Interleukin-23 Receptor Genetic Variants Contribute to Susceptibility of Multiple Cancers

Aim: Interleukin-23 (IL-23) and IL-23 receptor (IL23R) play an important role during the T-helper 17 (Th17) cell-mediated inflammatory process as well as pathogenesis of multiple cancers. Several IL-23R single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), especially rs6682925, rs10889677 and rs1884444 polymorphisms, are considered to have significant impacts on susceptibility of multiple cancers. A number of case-control studies have explored the role these genetic polymorphisms in development of carcinogenesis, but the conclusions are inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to systematically investigate the associations between the three genetic variants and multiple cancer risk.

Methods: A total of ten studies are eligible (12,211 patients and 14,650 controls). Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were appropriately calculated using either fixed-effect model or random-effect model.

Results: Significant associations between rs6682925 or rs10889677 polymorphism and cancer risk were found (OR=1.11, 95% CI=1.03-1.21, P=0.007; or OR=0.85, 95% CI=0.71-0.92, P=0.001). However, there was no such association between rs1884444 genotypes and cancer susceptibility (P>0.05).

Conclusion: These findings reveal that the IL-23R rs6682925 and rs10889677 genetic variants play a more important part in pathogenesis of multiple cancers.