Association of -1112 C/T promoter region polymorphism of the interleukin 13 gene with occurrence of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal carcinoma is one of the leading causes of death from cancer amongst adults. Considering its molecular background, cytokines are the key component of the inflammatory microenvironment of these tumors. Investigations that enable better understanding of colorectal cancer concerning the molecular level, may provide important tools for genetic screening of disease high-risk groups, as well as molecular diagnostics for the non-invasive detection of cancer in its early stages.The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between colorectal cancer and the -1112 C/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the interleukin-13 gene.Material and methods. The study group comprised 150 cancer patients and 170 healthy subject genotypes from the Polish population. Analysis was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Results. We showed that the CT genotype is connected with a higher risk of colon cancer occurrence (OR 2.51; 95% CI 1.57-4.02; p < 0.0001). We also correlated the polymorphic variants of the IL-13 gene with the clinical characteristics of colorectal cancer patients. We observed no association between the investigated polymorphism and colorectal cancer progression, evaluated by tumor stage, as well as lymph node metastasis.Conclusions. The presented study suggested the possibility of a connection between the IL-13 gene polymorphism (-1112 C/T) and colorectal cancer risk in the Polish population.