Genetic influence of cytokine polymorphisms on the clinical outcome of Japanese gastrointestinal cancer patients in palliative care.

Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the most common causes of mortality globally. The present study examined the influence of cytokine genetic polymorphisms [interleukin ( C-31T, VNTR, C-634G, T-251A, T-819C and A-1082G] on clinical outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal cancer in palliative care. A total of 59 patients with gastrointestinal cancer who were admitted to Iga City General Hospital were analyzed. Genotyping was conducted using a polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers. Patients with at least one allele demonstrated a significantly better survival (P=0.0275) while those with -634 demonstrated a worse survival (P=0.0024). Multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazard model revealed that those with at least one allele, -634 or -1082 had a significantly elevated adjusted hazard ratio of 9.20 (P=0.014), 41.01 (P=0.001) or 6.49 (P=0.046), respectively, compared with those with each homozygous wild-type polymorphism. In addition, the evaluation of weight loss by genotype revealed the potential influence of T-819C genotype (P=0.072). and polymorphisms were associated with the survival of patients with gastrointestinal cancer, suggesting the clinical feasibility of genetic testing in patients with gastrointestinal cancer in palliative care.