BackgroundSeveral epidemiological studies have illustrated that polymorphisms in interleukin-2 (IL-2) were associated with diverse cancer types. However, recently published statistics were inconsistent and inconclusive. Therefore, the current meta-analysis was performed to elaborate the effects of IL-2 polymorphisms (rs2069762 and rs2069763) on cancer susceptibility.Material and methodsA total of 5,601 cancer cases and 7,809 controls from 21 published case–control studies were enrolled in our meta-analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to assess the association between IL-2 polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility.ResultsOur study demonstrated an increased susceptibility to cancer in rs2069762 (G vs T: OR =1.268, 95% CI =1.113–1.445; GG vs TT: OR =1.801, 95% CI =1.289–2.516; GT vs TT: OR =1.250, 95% CI =1.061–1.473; GG + GT vs TT: OR =1.329, 95% CI =1.118–1.579; GG vs GT + TT: OR =1.536, 95% CI =1.162–2.030). In the subgroup analysis, increased susceptibility to cancer was identified in the hospital-based group and PHWE<0.05 (P-value of the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium [HWE]) group. In addition, a positive association with cancer susceptibility was observed among both Chinese and non-Chinese. However, no relationship was detected between the rs2069763 polymorphism of IL-2 and cancer susceptibility.ConclusionTo conclude, rs2069762 polymorphism of IL-2 contributed to an increased susceptibility to cancer, whereas no association was identified between rs2069763 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility. Further detailed studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

BackgroundNFKBIA encodes the inhibitors of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which regulate the translation of the genes involved in the inflammatory and immune reactions. Polymorphisms (rs2233406, rs3138053, and rs696) of NFKBIA have been implicated in susceptibility to many cancer types.Material/MethodsTo evaluate the association between polymorphisms of NFKBIA and cancer susceptibility, a meta-analysis including a total of 7182 cancer cases and 10 057 controls from 28 case-control studies was performed. Data were extracted and pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.ResultsCombined data demonstrated that rs3138053 polymorphism of NFKBIA was associated with cancer susceptibility in an allelic model (C vs. T: OR=10.754, 95%CI=4.175–27.697, Pheterogeneity=0.000), while the polymorphism of rs696 appeared to play a protective role in tumorigenesis (CC+CT vs. TT: OR=0.879, 95%CI=0.787–0.982, Pheterogeneity=0.107). When stratification analysis was performed by cancer type, an increased association of rs3138053 was recognized in hepatocarcinoma (C vs. T: OR=42.180, 95%CI=27.970–63.612, Pheterogeneity=0.007), while a decreased association of rs696 was identified in Hodgkin lymphoma (C vs. T: OR=0.792, 95%CI=0.656–0.956, Pheterogeneity=0.116; CC vs. TT: OR=0.658, 95%CI=0.448–0.965, Pheterogeneity=0.076; CC vs. CT+TT: OR=0.734, 95%CI=0.562–0.958, Pheterogeneity=0.347). By ethnicity, rs696 appears to be a protective candidate among Caucasians (CT vs. TT: OR=0.809, 95%CI=0.676–0.969, Pheterogeneity=0.459).ConclusionsOur data demonstrated that the rs3138053 polymorphism of NFKBIA gene is a candidate for susceptibility to overall cancers, while rs696 plays a protective role.

BackgroundMany epidemiology studies have indicated that several functional polymorphisms of the IL-27 gene may contribute to individual susceptibility to cancer. Nevertheless, the data arising from these studies were inconclusive. Therefore, we conducted the current meta-analysis aiming to elucidate the effects of IL-27 polymorphisms (rs153109, rs17855750, and rs181206) on cancer susceptibility.Material/MethodsWe searched the CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang database, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for all eligible publications. We used odds ratios (ORs) corresponding with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by using the random/fixed-effects model to evaluate the association. Finally, a total of 12 publications, including 27 case-control studies comprising of 7570 patients and 9839 controls, were enrolled in our meta-analysis.ResultsOur work demonstrates that IL-27 rs17855750 polymorphism is significantly associated with cancer susceptibility, particularly for bladder cancer. However, no association between IL-27 rs153109 and rs181206 polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility was identified. When a stratification analysis was performed by cancer type, we identified an increased susceptibility of bladder cancer in rs153109 polymorphism. Moreover, in the stratification analysis by genotyping method, we identified an increased susceptibility for PCR-RFLP group in rs17855750 polymorphism, whereas a decreased susceptibility was identified in rs153109 polymorphism.ConclusionsOur study shows that IL-27 rs17855750 polymorphism is significantly associated with increased susceptibility to cancer in Chinese.