Association between an insertion/deletion polymorphism in the interleukin-1α gene and the risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population

Background: Previous studies have reported that polymorphisms in the interleukin-1 gene may be involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Aim: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether an insertion/deletion polymorphism, rs3783553, located in the miR-122 target gene interleukin-1 alpha, was associated with the risk of colorectal cancer. Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral venous blood of 382 patients with colorectal cancer and 433 controls, and the polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: Significantly decreased colorectal cancer risk was observed to be associated with the interleukin-1 alpha rs3783553 insertion/insertion genotype (P=0.0001; OR=0.41; 95% CI 0.26, 0.65) and the insertion allele (P<0.001; OR=0.68; 95% CI 0.55, 0.83). Stratification analysis based on clinical and pathological features also revealed that the TTCA insertion allele of rs3783553 contributes to slow the progression of colorectal cancer. Conclusion: These results suggest that the rs3783553 polymorphism could be a useful genetic marker to predict the size/extent of colorectal cancer.