Frequency and prognostic significant of CYP3A4-A-290G polymorphism in acute myeloid leukemia

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is the most plentiful cytochrome P450 in adult human liver and small intestine and is responsible for detoxification of more than 50% of drugs in addition to the metabolic deactivation and metabolism of many carcinogens. Polymorphism of CYP3A4-A-290G considered the only allele that appears to stimulate CYP3A4 expression and has been associated with a number of clinical phenotypes, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, leukemia and the early onset of puberty. In this study, we analyzed the presence of CYP3A4-A-290G polymorphism in 77 newly diagnosed AML cases and 72 healthy control using PCR/RFLP aiming to show CYP3A4-A-290G polymorphism pattern in acute myeloid leukemia patients, and its role in disease severity and progression. A highly statistically significant difference was found between the control and AML groups as regards the heterozygous genotype (p-value = 0.002) and increases the risk of AML 11.4-fold. Also there was a highly significant difference between the control and AML patients regarding variant allele (G in AG and GG genotypes) (p-value 0.001) and increases the risk of AML 19-fold. No statistically significant association found between the CYP3A4-A-290G polymorphism and different clinical or laboratory parameters as well as an initial response to treatment, overall survival and the disease free survival. We concluded that CYP3A4-A-290G polymorphism is a genotypic factor that increases the CYP3A4 enzymatic activity and increases the risk of AML by 18.9-fold.