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Lack of association between interferon gamma +874 T/A polymorphism and cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis

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Tumor Biology

Abstract

Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine which plays a pivotal role in the antiviral, antiproliferative, and antitumor activities. A T-to-A transition at the position +874 of human IFN-γ gene (IFNG) has been reported to influence the secretion of IFN-γ and affect cancer susceptibility. However, results from published studies on the association between IFNG +874 T/A polymorphism and cancer risk are inconclusive or even controversial. In order to derive a more precise estimation of the association, a meta-analysis of 38 eligible studies including 5,630 cases and 6,096 controls was conducted with odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI). Overall, no significant association was detected in allelic model (A allele vs. T allele—OR = 0.96, 95 % CI, 0.86–1.08), homozygote comparison (AA vs. TT—OR = 0.97, 95 % CI, 0.79–1.21), heterozygote comparison (AT vs. TT—OR = 1.03, 95 % CI, 0.87–1.23), dominant model (AA + AT vs. TT—OR = 1.00, 95 % CI, 0.87–1.15), nor recessive model (AA vs. AT + TT—OR = 0.93, 95 % CI, 0.78–1.12). Further subgroup analyses based on ethnicity, cancer types, and Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium status failed to demonstrate any significant relationship except in African population under recessive model (AA vs. AT + TT—OR = 0.68, 95 % CI, 0.47–0.97). In conclusion, the current meta-analysis suggested that IFNG +874 T/A polymorphism may not contribute to cancer susceptibility, and further well-designed studies with large sample size are warranted to validate our conclusion.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81070597 and 81370853), Science and Education Development Program of the Jiangsu Province Health Board (LJ201107), Six Talent Peaks of the Jiangsu Province Health Bureau (2011-WS-093), and Research and Innovation Program for Graduates of Jiangsu Province (CXZZ13_0583).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Yu-Zheng Ge, Zheng Xu, Lu-Wei Xu, Ran Wu, Wen-Cheng Li & Rui-Peng Jia

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Yi-Dan Wang, Ya-Ping Wang, Mao-Hong Gu & You-Di Xu

  3. Department of General Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 68 Changle Road, Nanjing, 210006, China

    Ai-Xing Ding & Xian-Bo Zhu

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  1. Yu-Zheng Ge
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Correspondence to Rui-Peng Jia.

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Yu-Zheng Ge, Yi-Dan Wang, and Zheng Xu contributed equally to this work.

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Ge, YZ., Wang, YD., Xu, Z. et al. Lack of association between interferon gamma +874 T/A polymorphism and cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis. Tumor Biol. 35, 6405–6414 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1861-9

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