Liu Reng-Yun, Song Xiaoxue, Chen Ping, Lei Zhe, Miao Jingcheng, Yi Nengjun, Zhang Kui, Pasche Boris, Zhang Hong-Tao
Soochow University Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Genetics, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P.R. China ;
Exp Ther Med. 2012 Apr;3(4):655-664. doi: 10.3892/etm.2012.454. Epub 2012 Jan 13.
Interleukin-6 (IL6) is a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine, which is implicated in the development and progression of several types of cancer. The -174G/C polymorphism of the IL6 gene controls serum levels of IL6 and may be associated with cancer risk, but the results from the published studies on the association between this polymorphism and cancer risk are conflicting. A comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association of IL6 -174G/C with cancer risk. Studies were identified by searches of MEDLINE and HuGE Published Literature databases, with no restrictions. An eligible 83 articles involving 44,735 cancer patients and 60,747 controls were included. Combined odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association between the IL6 -174 G/C polymorphism and cancer risk. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by meta-regression and sensitivity analysis. Overall, the IL6 -174G/C polymorphism was not significantly associated with cancer risk. However, cancer risk was increased for individuals with the CC genotype compared to those carrying the GG genotype in African populations (OR=1.83, 95% CI 1.26-2.67, P=0.002), but not in Caucasian populations (OR=1.00, 95% CI 0.92-1.08, P=0.938). The present meta-analysis provides the first evidence of the ethnic-specific association of the IL6 -174G/C polymorphism with cancer risk. Further investigations with a large number of cases and controls are required to confirm the associations between this polymorphism and cancer in Africans.
白细胞介素-6（IL6）是一种多效性炎症细胞因子，与多种癌症的发生和发展有关。IL6基因的-174G/C多态性控制着IL6的血清水平，可能与癌症风险相关，但已发表的关于这种多态性与癌症风险关联的研究结果相互矛盾。进行了一项全面的荟萃分析，以评估IL6 -174G/C与癌症风险的关联。通过检索MEDLINE和HuGE已发表文献数据库来识别研究，没有任何限制。纳入了83篇符合条件的文章，涉及44735名癌症患者和60747名对照。采用合并比值比（OR）和95%置信区间（CI）来评估IL6 -174 G/C多态性与癌症风险之间关联的强度。通过元回归和敏感性分析探索异质性的潜在来源。总体而言，IL6 -174G/C多态性与癌症风险无显著关联。然而，与携带GG基因型的个体相比，非洲人群中CC基因型个体的癌症风险增加（OR = 1.83，95% CI 1.26 - 2.67，P = 0.002），而在白种人群中则没有（OR = 1.00，95% CI 0.92 - 1.08，P = 0.938）。本荟萃分析首次提供了IL6 -174G/C多态性与癌症风险存在种族特异性关联的证据。需要进一步开展大量病例和对照的研究，以证实非洲人群中这种多态性与癌症之间的关联。
