Investigation of catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene VAL158MET polymorphism in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the seventh leading cause of death and is the eighth most common cancer among women. It has the highest mortality rate among all gynecological cancers. The prognosis of ovarian cancer is poor, especially when the disease is diagnosed at an advanced stage. The COMT enzyme synthesized from the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene detoxifies the carcinogenic catechol estrogens. This enzyme catalyzes the methoxylation reaction to produce 2-methoxy estradiol. This metabolite induces apoptosis and suppresses carcinogenesis. In the COMT gene, the Val158Met polymorphism results in a decrease in the activity of this enzyme, resulting in the accumulation of carcinogenic catechol estrogens. This thesis study, it is aimed at examining the relationship of the disease with COMT Val158Met polymorphism which is thought to affect the risk of ovarian cancer. The two groups were seperated as a patient group with ovarian cancer (n = 47) and control group (n = 47). Genotyping of both groups was determined by Real-Time PCR, and the statistical analysis of the data was performed by SPSS program. According to our results, GG genotype (homozygote wild type) was found in 12 (25.5%), GA genotype (heterozygote type) in 22 (46.8%), AA genotype (homozygote variant type) in 13 (27.7%) in the control group statistically. In the patient group, genotype distributions were determined 17 (37.8%), 19 (42.2%) and 9 (20%) respectively. There was no significant relationship in comparison with genotypes between patient and control groups (p=0.413). This study could provide a novel approach for the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer. Key words: Polymorphism, Catechol-O-Methyltransferase, Catechol Estrogen, Ovarian Cancer