Analysis of the human tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) gene promoter polymorphisms in children with bone cancer

[...]an increase in the TNF308.1/TNF308.2 genotype has been reported in different tumour types, with a significantly increased frequency of the TNF308.2 allele in patients with malignant tumours. 8 Wilson et al 7 have shown that the polymorphism at -308 has a significant effect on the transcriptional activity of the humanTNFα gene, either because the interaction of the transcription enhancers is increased owing to the different DNA conformations, or because the TNF2 variant is the target for novel binding proteins. [...]in our series of osteosarcoma, there is a tendency for a higher number of TNF308.2 alleles in male patients, without reaching, however, statistical significance (p=0.079).