Clinical importance of deletion polymorphism in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can play a role in the pathogenesis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) by contributing to epithelial damage. () is involved in the generation of ROS via forkhead box O3 (FOXO3), and a deletion polymorphism related to apoptosis has been reported to be specific to Asians. Here we examine the clinical features of IPF in patients with deletion polymorphism.