IL23R+2199A/C polymorphism is associated with decreased risk of certain subtypes of gastric cancer in Chinese: A case-control study

Introduction: Today, the causal relationship between inflammation and gastric cancer is more widely accepted. Genetic variations in inflammation-related genes especially cytokines and their receptors, were thought to partly determine the outcome of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and progression of gastric lesions. Interleukin 23 receptor (IL23R), as a key cytokine receptor gene in the important inflammatory IL-17/IL-23 axis, may contribute to gastric cancer predisposition. Up till now, the associations of IL23R gene polymorphisms with subtypes of gastric cancer are largely unknown. Aims: We investigated whether the association between IL23R +2199 rs10889677 and gastric cancer risk varies by clinical characteristics and the prognostic value of the polymorphism in a case-control study. Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted in Guangdong. 1010 gastric cancer patients and 800 healthy controls were enrolled. Polymorphism in IL23R was analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Results: Compared with AA, CC carriers of IL23R +2199 polymorphism were associated with protection against gastric cancer (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.31-0.71). In stratified analyses, CC genotype was significantly associated with decreased risk of intestinal type (OR = 0.44,95% CI = 0.27-0.70), but not with diffuse or mix type of gastric cancer. CC genotype was found to be associated with poorly differentiated (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.26-0.70), but not with moderately or well differentiated gastric cancer. Multivariate analysis showed IL23R +2199A/C variant was not an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients. Conclusion: IL23R polymorphism influences certain subtypes of gastric cancer according to clinical and pathological features, understanding the etiologic heterogeneity of gastric cancer may result in improvements in controlling this disorder. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.