Opioid response in paediatric cancer patients and the Val158Met polymorphism of the human catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene: an Italian study on 87 cancer children and a systematic review.
Pharmacogenetic analysis of COMT and cancer prevention in two large randomized trials revealed statistically significant COMT by alpha-tocopherol interaction, such that alpha-tocopherol was beneficial among rs4680 met-allele (28.0%), but not val-allele (22.8%) homozygotes.
Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an abundant S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-)-dependent methyltransferase that methylates catechol compounds, including catecholamines and catecholestrogens.COMT gene located at chromosome 22q11.2 contains a functional polymorphism at codon 158(Val158Met), which has been related to psychiatric diseases and different types of cancer.
Urological cancers occur worldwide.Many factors, among which the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism, are said to be associated with the cancer risk.
In the total analysis, the results suggested a significant association between the Val158Met polymorphism in the COMT gene and the cancer risk in Chinese population: OR = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.04-1.73, and P = 0.03 for AA vs. AG + GG; OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.06-1.82, and P = 0.02; OR = 1.13, 95%CI = 1.01-1.27, and P = 0.04.
The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene contains a functional polymorphism, Val158Met which has been related to common diseases like cancer, psychiatric illness and myocardial infarction.