Conclusion: Our data suggested that the cancer risk allele of hTERT rs2736100 polymorphism may also affect the cancer cell response to both TERT inhibitor and anti-mitotic agents, which might be attributed to the elevated telomerase-independent activity of hTERT, as well as the increased risk for TP53 gene mutagenesis conferred by the polymorphism. The gene discussed is TP53; the disease is cancer.