Association of VDR Gene Polymorphisms with Thyroid Cancer in the Population of Markazi Province

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignancy, especially among young women, and is often curable with early detection. Genetic mutations in cell proliferation pathways, including the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, may influence cancer risk. Given the role of the VDR in cell proliferation and differentiation, any mutation in this gene could be associated with the occurrence of various cancers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate polymorphisms of the VDR gene, including the three SNPs rs7975232, rs1544410, and rs2228570, and their relationship with thyroid cancer. In this laboratory study, tissue samples were collected from 40 patients with various types of thyroid cancer as the patient group and 40 healthy individuals as the control group from Ghods Hospital in Markazi Province. Tissue blocks were sectioned and used for DNA extraction. Then, using the Tetra-Arms PCR technique, the genotypes of each individual for all three SNPs were examined. SPSS software, the Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data and determine significance levels. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Based on the obtained results, in the patient group, the frequency of genotypes for SNP rs7975232 in individuals with genotypes AA (p< 0.001) and AC (p= 0.003), and genotypes for SNP rs1544410 in individuals with genotypes TT and CC (p< 0.001), showed a significant increase compared to the control group. Also, the frequency of genotypes for SNP rs2228570 in the patient group with genotypes CC, TC, and TT showed a significant increase compared to the control group, with significance levels of p= 0.001, p= 0.007, and p< 0.001, respectively. Our findings indicate that the rs2228570 is associated with increased risk and warrants further investigation as a potential genetic marker for risk assessment in this population.