Tumour necrosis factor-α gene polymorphisms in asbestos-induced diseases

Background: Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α influences the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis and carcinogenesis in normal cells. Polymorphisms of this gene have been suggested to be associated with susceptibility to lung diseases.

Methods: Association studies were performed in German subjects, using control subjects (n?=?177), pulmonary fibrosis patients (n?=?612) and bronchial carcinoma patients (n?=?374).

Results: Compared with a healthy (control) group, a significant result could be obtained for the asbestosis (patient) group (crude odds ratio (OR_crude)?=?1.57; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–2.36; p?=?0.03), especially with severe lung asbestosis (OR_crude?=?4.15; 95% CI 1.06–16.16; p?=?0.04). A significant association was revealed when comparing asbestosis patients (OR_crude?=?4.08; 95% CI 1.53–10.54; p?=?0.004 and OR_adjusted?=?3.89; 95% CI 1.49–10.17; p?=?0.006) with asbestos-induced lung cancer patients.

Conclusion: The results confirm the hypothesis that TNF-α polymorphisms are associated with asbestos-induced fibrotic or malignant lung diseases in Germans.