Tumor necrosis factor gene polymorphisms in Turkish patients with sarcoidosis

Can non-thyroid illness syndrome predict mortality in lung cancer patients? A prospective cohort study

This study aims to evaluate the incidence of non-thyroid illness syndrome (NTIS) among patients diagnosed as lung cancer and its association with the stage of the disease, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score, nutritional parameters, and survival. We enrolled 120 patients that 71 of them with newly diagnosed and staged non-small cell lung cancer and 49 of them small-cell lung cancer. The cases were examined for thyroid function tests, ECOG performance score, and nutritional evaluation before treatment. Also, cases were evaluated for their overall survival rates. NTIS was identified in 30 (42 %) of the 71 non-small cell lung cancer patients and 22 (44 %) of the 49 small-cell lung cancer patients. NTIS was more frequent among advanced stage of cases. Serum albumin level, cholesterol level, lymphocyte level, and body mass index were detected to be significantly low and ECOG performance score was significantly high in cases with NTIS when compared to cases without NTIS. NTIS was found to be negatively correlated with body mass index, ECOG performance score, and serum albumin level, and it was positively correlated with disease stage. NTIS was detected significantly as a poor prognostic factor for lung cancer. NTIS was frequently seen in cases with non-small cell lung cancer and small-cell lung cancer. NTIS can be used as a predictor of poor prognosis for lung cancer patients.

Associations between tumor necrosis factor alpha gene polymorphism and sarcoidosis: a meta-analysis

Published studies regarding the association between tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) gene polymorphism and sarcoidosis risk are inconsistent. In order to clarify this association, we performed a meta-analysis of case-control studies with available data. PubMed, EMBASE and BIOSIS Previews were comprehensively searched to identify relevant studies. Twelve case-control studies in 11 articles involving 3,218 participants were included in the meta-analysis to assess the association between TNF-α gene polymorphism and susceptibility to sarcoidosis. We estimated the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) to explore the potential association. Our meta-analysis results suggested that TNF-α-308G/A AA/AG genotype increased sarcoidosis risk, in Asian and Caucasian ethnicity, and in sarcoidosis with Löfgren syndrome. No association was found between TNF-α-238G/A, TNF-α-857C/T polymorphism and sarcoidosis risk. In conclusion, our meta-analysis indicated that AG/GG genotype of TNF-α-308G/A are associated with increased sarcoidosis risk.

Association of six well-characterized polymorphisms in TNF-α and TNF-β genes with sarcoidosis: a meta-analysis

Backgrounds

In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of six well-characterized polymorphisms in tumor necrosis factor alpha and beta (TNF-α and TNF-β) genes with the risk for sarcoidosis via a comprehensive meta-analysis.

Methods And Findings

The electronic MEDLINE (Ovid) and PubMed databases covering the period from the earliest possible year to June 2013 were searched. Total 13 qualified articles including 1584 patients with sarcoidosis and 2636 controls were recruited. The data were analyzed by RevMan software, and risk estimates were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Analyses of the full data set failed to identify any significant association of TNF-α gene -307A (OR=1.25; 95% CI: 0.98-1.59), -1031C (OR=0.88; 95% CI: 0.71-1.1), -863A (OR=0.89; 95% CI: 0.72-1.11), -238A (OR=0.97; 95% CI: 0.71-1.32), and -857T (OR=1.14; 95% CI: 0.74-1.77) alleles, but a significant association for TNF-β 252A allele (OR=1.65; 95%CI = 1.33-2.04; P<0.00001). Under a random-effects allelic model, there was marginally significant increased risk of sarcoidosis for -307A allele among Caucasians (OR=1.25; 95% CI: 0.96-1.62; P=0.09) but not among Asians (OR=2.12; 95% CI: 0.31-14.27; P=0.44). There was a low probability of publication bias as reflected by the fail-safe number.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis extended previous findings on the association between the TNF-α and TNF-β genetic polymorphisms and sarcoidosis, by showing that the TNF-β gene A252G polymorphism might be a potential risk factor for the development of sarcoidosis.