Association of Matrix metalloproteinases-9 -1562 C>T and susceptibility to bladder cancer

  Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant diseases worldwide. The incidence rate of this cancer has been reported three times more in men than in women. Matrix metalloproteinases play an important role in the development and progression of this cancer. In the current study, the polymorphism of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) gene promoter and risk of to bladder cancer were investigated.

In this case-control study, 141 patients with bladder cancer and 135 healthy subjects were studied. First, DNA extraction was performed, then, PCR was carried out using MMP-9 specific primers. RFLP method was used to investigate the -1562 C>T polymorphism. The association between MMP-9 polymorphism and risk of bladder cancer was determined using chi square method and GraphPad Prism software (version 6.01). The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using POPGENE software (version 1.32), Confidence Interval (CI), and Odds Ratio (OR). The significance level was considered to be p<0.05.

In this study, there was no significant association between MMP-9 polymorphism and risk for bladder cancer (p>0.05). No significant association was found between the genotypes and stage, grade of disease, and size of tumor. There was also no significant association between smoking and grade of disease, size of tumor, and stage of the disease. A three-fold risk of bladder cancer was associated with smoking.

Based on the results of this study, genetic variation in -1562 C>T polymorphism of MMP-9 gene promotor had no association with the risk of bladder cancer. Therefore, smoking should be considered as an important risk factor for bladder cancer.