January 15th, 2008
Melissa Norton, MD
Editor-in- Chief
BMC Genetics
Dear Dr Norton:
With respect to your recent invitation dated December 18th 2007, we are
submitting our manuscript entitled “Polymorphisms of Selected Xenobiotic
Genes Contribute to the Development Papillary Thyroid Cancer
Susceptibility in Middle Eastern Population” to be considered for publication
as a research article in BMC Genetics.
The study of polymorphisms in genes involved in the xenobiotics has
demonstrated their role in cancer pharmacogenetics. However, most available
information on the distribution of genotypes and their association with risk is
shown in cancers other than thyroid. Sparse data is available and comes from
Euro-American populations and no such associations have been previously
shown with most of the selected xenobiotic genes in Saudi population.
Cataloging differences in the distribution of these genotypes in thyroid
malignancies would prove valuable in providing a pharmacogenomic profile of a
given population and in thyroid disease as well.
In order to achieve this we investigated the allele and genotype frequencies for
the association between controls and cases including genes encoding folic acid
metabolizing enzymes MTHFR and six xenobiotics-metabolizing enzymes
including CYP1A1 T3801C, C4887A, GSTP1 A1578G, C2293T, GSTM1,
GSTT1, NAT2 G590A, NQO*1 C609T in a hospital based case-control study.
We believe that this report would generate a significant interest to the audience
of BMC Genetics and provide interesting information for future polymorphism
studies in thyroid cancer.
Sincerely,
Khawla S. Al-Kuraya, MD, FCAP
Director,
Research, King Fahad National Center for Children’s Cancer & Research
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center
MBC#98-16, P.O. Box 3354,
Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia
Tel; (966)-1-229-4444 Ext 55167;
Fax (966)-1-229-3671)
Email: kkuraya@kfshrc.edu.sa