Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 polymorphism is associated with increased risk and poor prognosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) is expressed in various cell types and plays important roles in regulating immune responses. Evidence has shown that FGFR4 rs351855 (Gly388Arg) polymorphism may act as a risk factor for many diseases. In the current study, we investigated the association between FGFR4 polymorphisms and the susceptibility to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in the Chinese population. Two polymorphisms in the FGFR4 gene (rs351855G/A and rs147603016G/A) were detected by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism in 421 NHL cases and 486 healthy controls. Results showed that prevalence of rs351855AA genotype was significantly increased in patients than in controls (odds ratio [OR] = 2.02, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.91–3.23, P < 0.001). Similarly, rs351855A allele presented significantly higher numbers in cases compared to healthy donors (49.8 versus 40.1 %, P < 0.001). Further study revealed that the frequency of the rs351855G/A polymorphism was clearly elevated in cases with B cell subtype than those with T cell subtypes. When analyzing the survival time of NHL patients with FGFR4 rs351855G/A polymorphism, cases with AA genotype had significantly shorter survival time compared to the patients with GG genotype ( P < 0.001) or GA genotype ( P < 0.001). These results suggest that FGFR4 rs351855G/A polymorphism is associated with increased susceptibility to NHL and could be used as a marker for predicting the prognosis of the malignancy.