No association between TGF-β1 polymorphisms and risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a large North African case-control study

Background Genetic susceptibility plays a key role in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and in fact the disease presents with an unusually high incidence in certain regions of the world like North Africa. We investigated the association between polymorphism of the Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and risk of NPC in North Africa. TGF-β1 is a multifunctional cytokine that acts as both a tumor suppressor and a stimulator of cancer development; it has been shown to influence risk of numerous other carcinomas including lung, breast and prostate cancer.