Multidrug resistance is the main reason of unsuccessful chemotherapy. The most important cause of drug resistance is ATP dependent pumps such as MDR1 that extrude drugs from the cell. MDR1 gene is highly polymorphic and it seems that these polymorphisms influence the gene expression and response to treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate MDR1 gene C1236T polymorphism and it's association with response to treatment in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Materials & Methods:

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... this descriptive analytical study, MDR1 gene C1236T polymorphism was investigated in 44 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 40 healthy individuals by ARMS-PCR technique. Association of this polymorphism with response to treatment was also evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using Chi-square test and p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was no significant difference in frequencies of C1236T polymorphism between patients and healthy group (p=0.876). Also there was not significant difference about frequency of polymorphism between responders and non responders (p=0.304). Conclusion: It seems that there is no correlation between C1236T polymorphism of MDR1 gene and response to treatment, and the role of this polymorphism in MDR1 gene expression in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and response to treatment is still controversial.