Objective: To assess the association of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms with ectopic pregnancy (EP) among Chinese women.
Methods: A case-control study was carried out, which compared 192 women with a history of EP with 210 post-menopausal controls who had two pregnancies but no history of EP for the genotypes of the VEGF gene. Polymorphisms of the VEGF gene including -460C/T, -1154G/A, -2578C/A and +936C/T were determined with a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.
Results: No significant difference was found in the genotypic and allelic distribution of the -460C/T and +936C/T polymorphisms between the two groups. Compared with the GG genotype, the VEGF -1154 AA+GA genotype could significantly decrease the risk of EP (OR=0.61, 95%CI: 0.42-0.87). Compared with the CC genotype, VEGF -2578 AA+CA genotype could significantly reduce the risk of EP (OR=0.66, 95%CI:0.44-0.99). Haplotype analysis suggested that the T-A-A (VEGF -460/-1154/-2578) and C-A-A haplotypes could significantly decrease the risk of EP compared with the T-G-C haplotype (P=0.020, OR=0.41, 95%CI:0.19-0.89, P=0.014, OR=0.29, 95%CI:0.11-0.82).
Conclusion: The -1154A or -2578A alleles of the VEGF gene can significantly decrease the risk of EP among Chinese women. The VEGF -460C/T, -1154G/A and -2578C/A polymorphisms showed a linkage disequilibrium. Both T-A-A and C-A-A haplotypes can significantly decrease the risk of EP.