Cytokine gene polymorphisms and their association with cervical cancer: A North Indian study

AbstractIntroductionThe production of cytokines, growth factors and adhesion molecules promotes tumor progression and involves inflammation, angiogenesis and thrombosis, thus providing optimal conditions for cancer development.Materials and methodsThe present study was undertaken to evaluate association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with cervical cancer in a north Indian population. Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) viz. IL-6-597G/A (rs1800797), IL-1β-511C/T (rs16944) and TNF-α-308G/A (rs1800629) was carried out in 100 each of cases and healthy age matched controls by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP). Genotype and allele frequencies were calculated by SPSS (ver.16) and gene–gene interaction was analyzed using SHEsis (ver. Online).ResultsEpidemiological studies showed that women >40years have higher risk of cervical cancer due to early pregnancies. IL-6 and TNF-α promoter polymorphisms showed significant association (P