The study was focused on an association between T-cell lymphoma and some supposed compo- nents of genetic background of the organism which could participate in the onset of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Polymorphisms of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (I/D ACE, intron 16) and lymphoto- xin a (TNFb) (NCol in intron I) genes were investigated in 33 Caucasian patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas and 66 healthy subjects. The polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction-based methods and restriction enzyme analysis. No differences were found in the allelic frequencies of he polymorphisms between patients and control subjects. In patients with T-cell lymphoma, a concurrence of the DD genotype of I/D ACE with the B1 allele of the TNFb gene was found (n = 2/24, 8 % in controls vs. n = 8/18, 44 % in CTCL; P = 0.009, odds ratio = 8.80, 95% confidence interval 1.50-51.50). The DD homozygote together with the TNFb heterozygote genotype (B1B2) was found to be the highest risk genotype for T-cell lymphoma patients (n = 2/12, 17 % in controls and 8/9, 89 % in CTCL; P = 0.002, odds ratio 40.00, 95% confidence interval 1.56-1024.12).

        Key words: ACE - TNF - cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - gene polymorphism