This study by Blank et al (2014) examined the role of MTHFR C677T & A1298C mutations and their effect on the treatment of gastric or oesophageal cancer. These mutations can impact upon cancer outcomes as certain chemotherapeutic drugs (e.g. 5-flourouracil) also directly impact the folate pathway, with mutations found here hence further influencing disease outcomes.
Therefore, patients with either oesophageal or gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy were screened for the presence of either C677T & A1298C mutations to discover associations with prognosis of the disease and response to the chemotherapy.
Results showed only the A1298C mutation was found to impact negatively on patient prognosis, but it did not predict the response to chemotherapy. The AC genotype was a significant negative prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer, where it was associated with worse outcomes. The MTHFR C677T was not said to play a role in either positively or negatively influencing either form of cancer & its prognosis.
