ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Adverse cutaneous reactions to antituberculous drugs (ATD), such as maculopapular eruption (MPE), are the most common causes of discontinuation of scheduled treatment of tuberculosis. We previously reported that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha genetic polymorphism -308G/A is significantly associated with ATD-induced hepatitis. This study aimed to investigate associations between TNF-alpha -308G/A and ATD-induced MPE. METHODS: Patients with ATD-induced MPE and controls without any adverse reactions to ATD were recruited from the database of the Adverse Drug Reaction Pharmacogenomic Research Group database of Korea. We compared the genotype frequency of TNF-alpha-308G/A between patients with ATD-induced MPE and ATD-tolerant controls. RESULTS: A total of 69 patients with ATD-induced MPE and 229 control subjects were enrolled for this study. There were no significant differences in genotype frequency between the patients and the controls, suggesting lack of associations between TNF-alpha-308G/A and ATD-induced MPE. CONCLUSION: The TNF-alpha genetic polymorphism -308G/A may not be related to the development of ATD-induced MPE, in contrast to ATD-induced hepatitis. These findings suggest that associations between TNF-alpha-308G/A and ATD-induced adverse reactions can be phenotype-specific.