Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism and its association with the susceptibility to Helicobacter pylori infection in the Egyptian population with hepatocellular carcinoma

This study aimed to estimate the frequency of H. pylori infection in patients with liver disorders, and identify the relationship between vitamin D receptor gene variants and susceptibility to H. pylori infections and HCC in Egyptian patients with liver diseases. This study consists of 300 adult patients classified into three groups: 100 healthy controls, 100 patients with liver cirrhosis, and 100 patients with HCC. Every patient was assessed for the presence of H. pylori by rapid test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Estimation of FokI and BsmI VDR gene polymorphism was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism-Polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR). Infection with H. pylori was present in 46.7% of cases overall. Liver cirrhosis (LC) patients had a higher prevalence of H. pylori infection, followed by HCC patients (59% and 42%, respectively). Patients with LC and HCC were shown to be CagA positive, with the target CagA oncogene gene having an expected product size of 37.3% and 35.7%, respectively. LC and HCC patients showed a significant difference between the H. pylori-positive and -negative groups. Concerning the BsmI polymorphism, HCC patients with H. pylori-CagA positive had a higher GC genotype than those with H. pylori-CagA negative, and LC and HCC patients with H. pylori-CagA positive had a higher TT genotype than those with H. pylori-CagA negative. FokI and BsmI VDR polymorphisms may be linked to H. pylori infection and CagA strain susceptibility in patients with LC and HCC.