Association of Common Polymorphisms in the Interleukin-1 Beta Gene with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Caucasian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B.

Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) promotes liver disease progression and hepatocarcinogenesis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the promotor region of the gene can affect the progression towards liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate the association of three common SNPs with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC in Caucasian patients. A Caucasian cohort of 99 patients with HBe antigen (Ag)-positive CHB, 255 patients with HBeAg-negative CHB and 278 inactive carriers (IC) were enrolled. 105 patients were diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, and 64 with HCC and cirrhosis. Genotyping of the rs1143623, rs1143627 and rs16944 was performed. The rs1143627 TT and rs16944 CC genotypes were more frequent in patients with HCC compared to patients without liver tumours (48% vs. 33%, = 0.018 and 47% vs. 31%, = 0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, the rs16944 CC genotype was independently associated with HCC (OR = 6.44 [95% CI 1.50-27.59] = 0.012). The haplotype, including rs1143623 TT and rs16944 CC, was a risk factor for HCC development (OR = 1.55 [95% CI 1.04-2.32] = 0.031). We identified an association of common SNPs with HBV-related HCC in a Caucasian population. The effect was independent of the phases of chronic HBV infection, which are currently regarded as important HCC risk factors.