Association of polymorphism in FcGR3A gene and progression of low-grade precursor lesions of cervical carcinoma

Polymorphisms in receptors of the constant part of antibodies (FcR) have been associated with susceptibility to disease and viral infections but have not been studied in cervical carcinogenesis. The distribution of the polymorphism V158F (rs396991) in FcGR3A in cervical smears was detected in a group of 84 women with stable or regressed low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (group I) and a group of 54 women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) (group II). Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping was also performed. In 27.4% of women from group I, FF genotype was found, whereas this genotype was observed in 51.9% of patients in group II (p = 0.003; odds ratio = 2.856 (95% confidence interval = 1.4-5.8)). When only women infected with high-risk HPV were analyzed these differences were found to be even higher (p = 0.0013; odds ratio = 3.8 (95% confidence interval = 1.7-8.8)). FF genotype in FcGR3A gene seems to be associated with increased risk of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions to HSIL progression suggesting that its presence may play a role in HPV tolerance, persistent infection, and HSIL development.