Polymorphism of the tumour necrosis factor‐alpha and lymphotoxin‐alpha genes in hairy cell leukaemia

Hairy cell leukaemia (HCL) is a rare chronic B lymphoproliferative disorder which can lead to severe pancytopenia and several immunologic abnormalities. The pathogenetic role of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α in HCL prompted us to study the potential contribution of functionally important genetic polymorphisms of the TNF gene cluster in a large group of patients with HCL. The TNF‐α (−308  bp) promoter/enhancer point mutation and two polymorphisms located within the first intron of the lymphotoxin (LT)‐α gene showed neither significant allelic deviation for the patient group nor, after analysis of clinical characteristics such as blood counts, stable or progressive disease or response to therapy.