Association between TERT gene polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia susceptibility in a Chinese population: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene polymorphisms and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) susceptibility in a Chinese Han population. METHODS: A total of 102 AML patients and 108 healthy controls were enrolled in this case–control study. TERT gene rs2853669 and rs2736100 polymorphisms were genotyped via polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Chi-square test was applied to compare polymorphism distributions between case and control groups. The strength of the association between TERT gene polymorphisms and AML susceptibility was evaluated utilizing odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: CC genotype and C allele of rs2736100 polymorphism were more frequent in AML patients (P < 0.05), and individuals carrying CC genotype showed higher risk of suffering from AML (OR = 2.632, 95% CI 1.129–6.133). But for rs2853669 polymorphism, no significant differences were detected in either genotype or allele distributions between groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested a positive association between TERT gene rs2736100 polymorphism and AML susceptibility in Chinese Han population.