The Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Gene Polymorphisms in Turkish Brain Cancer Patients

Objective. It has been stated that brain cancers are an increasingly serious issue in many parts of the world. The aim of our study was to determine a possible relationship between Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and the risk of glioma and meningioma. Methods. We investigated the VDR Taq-I and VDR Fok-I gene polymorphisms in 100 brain cancer patients (including 44 meningioma cases and 56 glioma cases) and 122 age-matched healthy control subjects. This study was performed by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RF LP). Results. VDR Fok-I ff genotype was significantly increased in meningioma patients (15.9%) compared with controls (2.5%), and carriers of Fok-I ff genotype had a 6.47-fold increased risk for meningioma cases. There was no significant difference between patients and controls for VDR Taq-I genotypes and alleles. Conclusions. We suggest that VDR Fok-I genotypes might affect the development of meningioma.