الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Increase in T regulatory (Treg) cells has been reported in different types of cancers including Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3) gene encodes a transcription factor with crucial roles in the development and function of Treg cells. This pilot study was designed to investigate the association between FOXP3 gene polymorphism (-3499A/G, -3279C/A and-2383C/T) with the risk of HCC. Genotyping polymorphism is performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) in 100 Egyptian HCC patients with HCV infection and 100 normal controls. FOXP3 (-3499 A/G) was significantly increased in AG (p<0.01) genotype and G allele (p<0.001) in female patients. In male patients, A and G alleles were significantly increased (p<0.001(. Concerning -3279C/A, AA genotype (p<0.05 (and A (p<0.01) allele were significantly increased in the female patients while A allele is elevated (p<0.01) in male patients. Insignificant change in the distribution of all genotypes of FOXP3 -2383C/T between control and patients was demonstrated. Taken together, our data stressed the importance of FOXP3 gene polymorphism in developing HCC. Our pilot study indicates that -3279C/A and -3499A/G polymorphisms in the FOXP3 gene might play a role in HCC susceptibility in Egyptians. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one that examines FOXP3 polymorphism in the HCC related HCV infection. Additional prospective studies on larger population are needed to confirm our findings.