Tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter polymorphism and the risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and myeloma in the Chinese population

The-308 GA promoter polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of lymphoid malignancies in Caucasians. We studied the incidence and prognostic significance of this polymorphism in Chinese patients with plasma cell myeloma (PCM), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphomas. Despite a far lower incidence of PCM and CLL in the Chinese population compared with Caucasians, the rates of TNF alpha - 308A were similar to those in Caucasians, both in the study and control populations. Similarly, there was no increased rate of TNF alpha - 308A in all the lymphomas studied, irrespective of lineage. However, TNF alpha - 308A is significantly associated with female CLL cases and confers a strong negative prognostic impact for Chinese CLL. These argue for a possible biological role for increased TNF alpha production in CLL progression in low-risk individuals.