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IL-6 polymorphism in non-small cell lung cancer: a prognostic value?

Tumor Biology

Abstract

Lung cancer was found to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer, as well as the primary cause of cancer-related mortality for males worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for women. Cytokines are fundamental for several biological processes-associated malignant tumors. The IL-6 is a cytokine involved in the regulation of cellular functions including processes associated with cancer, such as proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and differentiation. Furthermore, IL-6 is a potent pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine that is considered a key growth-promoting and antiapoptotic factor. The polymorphism − 174G/C SNP is a G to C transition in the -174 position of the promoter region of the IL-6 gene. The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of -174G/C polymorphism in clinical outcome of non-small cell cancer (NSCLC) patients. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of 424 patients diagnosed with cytologically or histologically NSCLC. The characterization of IL-6 -174G/C genotypes was performed by PCR-RFLP (NlaIII). IL-6 polymorphism’s genotypes were divided according to functional activity, so the G carriers (CG/GG) is the high-producer IL-6, and CC genotype is the low-producer IL-6. Regarding survival, we verify that patients with genotypes carrying the G allele (CG/GG) had a statistically significant diminished survival when compared with patients with CC genotype (62.79 and 42.31 months, respectively; P = 0.032). In the promoter region of the IL-6 gene, polymorphic variants were located and may be responsible for alterations in transcription that consequently affect serum levels of the cytokine. With our study, we demonstrated that genetic variant (-174G/G and G/C) can be responsible for changes in prognosis of NSCLC patients.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro-Centro Regional do Norte (Portuguese League Against Cancer) for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Oncology Group-CI, Portuguese Institute of Oncology, Porto, Portugal

    Mónica Gomes, Ana Coelho, Ana Luísa Teixeira, Raquel Catarino & Rui Medeiros

  2. ICBAS, Abel Salazar Institute for the Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Mónica Gomes, António Araújo, Ana Luísa Teixeira & Rui Medeiros

  3. Medical Oncology Service of Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Porto, Portugal

    António Araújo

  4. Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Ana Coelho & Raquel Catarino

  5. LPCC, Research Department-Portuguese League Against Cancer (NRNorte), Porto, Portugal

    Mónica Gomes, Ana Coelho & Rui Medeiros

  6. Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE), Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Andreia Azevedo

Authors
  1. Mónica Gomes
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  2. Ana Coelho
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Correspondence to Mónica Gomes.

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Gomes, M., Coelho, A., Araújo, A. et al. IL-6 polymorphism in non-small cell lung cancer: a prognostic value?. Tumor Biol. 36, 3679–3684 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-3006-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-3006-6

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