Association Between EGF and EGFR Gene Polymorphisms and Susceptibility to Alopecia Areata in the Korean Population

The study investigated the association between EGF and EGFR gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to alopecia areata (AA) in the Korean population, including 231 AA patients and 270 healthy controls. It found that specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in EGF (rs11569017) and EGFR (rs6965469) were significantly more frequent in AA patients compared to controls. Additionally, the EGFR SNP rs17337023 was associated with different clinical types of AA, suggesting its involvement in the disease phenotype. This study was the first to demonstrate that EGF and EGFR polymorphisms might contribute to the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of AA.