Interleukin-17 Gene Polymorphisms Contribute to Cancer Risk

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have suggested that interleukin-17 (IL-17) polymorphisms are associated with cancer risk. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to obtain a precise conclusion. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association of theIL-17Ars2275913G>A andIL-17Frs763780T>C polymorphisms with cancer risk. Publication bias and sensitivity analyses were performed to ensure the statistical power. Overall, 10 relevant case-control studies involving 4,516 cases and 5,645 controls were included. The pooled ORs with 95% CIs indicated that theIL-17Ars2275913G>A polymorphism was significantly associated with increased cancer risk (for A versus G: OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.16–1.41,P<0.001,I2=61.1%; for GA versus GG: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.02–1.23,P = 0.015,I2=27.8%; for AA versus GG: OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.38–2.41,P<0.001,I2=69.6%; for GA + AA versus GG: OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.13–1.34,P<0.001,I2=6.4%; for AA versus GG + GA: OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.27–2.07,P<0.001,I2=81.4%). Succeeding analysis of HWE and stratified analysis of gastric cancer and the Asian (and Chinese) population revealed similar results. TheIL-17Frs763780T>C polymorphism was also significantly associated with gastric cancer development. Overall, the present meta-analysis suggests thatIL-17polymorphisms increase the risk of developing cancer, particularly gastric cancer, in the Asian (and Chinese) population.