Genetic association between VEGF polymorphisms and BRONJ in the Korean population

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) polymorphisms and bisphosphonate‐related osteonecrosis of the jaw ( BRONJ ) in the Korean population. Subjects and Methods Forty‐five individuals (2 men, 43 women; mean age: 68.7 ± 12.3 years) were recruited for this study. All visited the Yonsei University Dental Hospital for surgical intervention from January 2012 to January 2013 and had a history of bisphosphonate ( BP ) administration (oral and/or intravenous). Patients were allocated to case ( n  = 26) or control ( n  = 19) groups according to the patients' selection criteria. Association between three VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs699947 (‐2578 C>A), rs2010963 (‐634 G>C) and rs3025039 (+936 C>T)) and BRONJ were investigated using multiple logistic regression analysis and Fisher's exact test where appropriate ( α  = 0.05). Results The CC homozygotes of rs2010963 and rs3025039 of VEGF gene were associated with an increased risk of BRONJ ( P  =   0.04, 0.03, respectively). In haplotype analysis, no differences in haplotype C‐C (‐2578/‐634) and haplotype C‐C‐C (‐2578/‐634/+936) were observed. Conclusion The CC homozygotes of rs2010963 and rs3025039 polymorphisms in the VEG F gene were associated with an increased risk of BRONJ in the Korean population. Further epidemiological cohort studies with a larger sample size would be required to confirm the suggestive correlations.