الفهرس 
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Abstract
NHL is a heterogeneous group of disorders with a great diversity in the clinical course and the response to therapy. selection of therapy is still a difficult challenge for clinicians. Continuous efforts are still required to identify the different prognostic features that are likely to clarify the biological nature of the disease.TNFa and LTa are known to be growth factors that drive the growth of normal and malignant B lymphocytes. Higher serum levels of these cytokines are known to be associated with adverse prognostic factors and poor outcome in NHL patients. TNFa and LTa production is controlled by 2 genes within the MHC region on chromosome 6.
Many polymorphisms are discribed in relation to these genes. Among these, the single base substitution at nucleotide positions -308 and
+252 of the TNFa and LTa genes respectively are shown to be associated with higher serum levels.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the TNFa and LTa gene polymorphisms in relation to the different disease characteristics in NHL patients and in relation to the outcome in these patients in terms of response to initial therapy and the PFS.
The study included 139 patients with NHL in which the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination and 94 normal controls. TNFa and LTa genotyping was done for all patients and controls using ailele specific PCR and RFLP respectively. In addition, serum TNFa was measured in 28 patients and 21 controls LTa was measured in 21 patients and 18 controls and f^Hg was measured in 45 patients using ELISA.