Neurokinin 1 receptor gene polymorphism might be correlated with recurrence rates in endometriosis

Abstract

Introduction. Dysmenorrhoea is the major symptom in women with endometriosis. Recently, pain modulation through Neurokinin-1-receptor (NK1R) pathways have been investigated in neuropathic pain patients. Aim of this study was, therefore, to examine the effect of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the NK1R gene on the susceptibility for endometriosis and the disease free survival (DFS) after surgery for endometriosis.

Material and methods. A case–control study was conducted and germline DNA was isolated. Patients were followed up for a recurrence of the disease up to 4 years. Case–control analyses were performed for parameters of the medical history and the genotype of the NK1R-SNP rs881. Furthermore, DFS probabilities were calculated.

Results. Concerning the DFS preoperative pain levels and the NK1R genotype were independent predictors for a recurrence with hazard ratios of 2.55 (95% CI: 1.32–4.95) for patients with a high preoperative pain level and 0.44 for patients with a heterozygous or homozygous variant genotype in rs881 (95% CI: 0.21–0.88).

Conclusion. The polymorphism rs811 seems to be associated with a lower recurrence risk in endometriosis patients. Thus, there might be a clinical relevant role of the NK1 pathway in the pain perception of endometriosis patients.

Keywords:

• Endometriosis
• neurokinin 1 receptor
• NK1
• NK1R
• TACR1
• substance p

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.