VDR Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world and the fourth most common cause of cancer death.The development of HCC is a complex and multi-factorial process, in which both environmental and genetic features interfere and contribute to malignant transformation. Numerous genetic studies have reported associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the presence of HCC.The purpose of thisreview is to describethe structure ofvitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and common polymorphisms involving it, and to address the associationsbetween VDR SNPs and cancer including HCC.