Association of Interleukin-18 Gene Promoter-607C>A Polymorphism with Increased Risk of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective. Multiple studies indicate that interleukin-18 (IL-18) promoter-607C>A polymorphism has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (BC); however, conflicting results were yielded. Therefore, the present meta-analysis was conducted to provide a comprehensive assessment of the association of IL-18 gene polymorphisms with the risk of BC. Materials. Following electronic databases searches and study screening, six eligible studies including 1,952 subjects were selected for the meta-analysis. Results. The results suggested a significant association of IL-18 promoter-607C>A polymorphism with risk of BC. They also demonstrated that IL-18 gene promoter-607C>A polymorphism may confer increased risk to BC under the allelic model (OR, 1.167; 95% CI, 1.028-1.326; p=0.017), homozygote model (OR, 1.371; 95% CI, 1.062-1.770; p=0.015), and recessive model (OR, 1.348; 95% CI, 1.081-1.683; p=0.008). Furthermore, the sub-group analysis revealed no significant association of the -607C>A gene polymorphism with BC risk in Asian. Conclusion. The present meta-analysis provided evidence for the association of IL-18-607C>A polymorphism with increased risk of developing BC, particularly, women exhibiting AA genotype at IL-18 promoter-607 C>A polymorphism showed a significantly higher risk for BC.

Automated summary

The meta-analysis found a significant association between IL-18 promoter-607C>A polymorphism and breast cancer risk, particularly under allelic, homozygote, and recessive models. Sub-group analysis in the Asian population did not show a significant association between -607C>A gene polymorphism and breast cancer risk.