Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Nov;22(8):1197-200.
doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.05.009. Epub 2008 Jul 9.

Cytokine gene polymorphisms and fatigue in breast cancer survivors: early findings

Alicia Collado-Hidalgo  1 , Julienne E Bower, Patricia A Ganz, Michael R Irwin, Steve W Cole
Affiliations

Cytokine gene polymorphisms and fatigue in breast cancer survivors: early findings

Alicia Collado-Hidalgo et al. Brain Behav Immun. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Converging evidence from basic and clinical studies suggests a role for proinflammatory cytokines in cancer-related fatigue, although the etiology of elevated inflammatory processes is unclear. We examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoters of cytokine genes as genetic risk factors for cytokine-related fatigue in 33 fatigued and 14 non-fatigued breast cancer survivors, focusing on promoter sequence polymorphisms in IL1B and IL6 associated with differential expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Predictors of fatigue included presence of at least one cytosine at IL1B -511 (95%CI=0.91-16.6, p=.007) and homozygosity for either variant of the IL6 -174 genotype (G/G or C/C; 95%CI=1.12-17.9, p=.027). Associations between fatigue status and IL1B genotype remained significant after covariate adjustment for demographic, biobehavioral and treatment-related factors. These findings provide preliminary evidence that polymorphisms in IL1B may serve as a potential risk factor for persistent fatigue in the aftermath of cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of polymorphisms in the interleukin-1 beta gene (IL1B) and the interleukin-6 gene (IL6) in fatigued and non-fatigued breast cancer survivors. Significant predictors of fatigue status included presence of at least one cytosine at IL1B −511 (95%CI = 0.91–16.6, p = .007) and homozyosity for either variant of the IL6 −174 genotype (95%CI = 1.12–17.9, p = .027) by nonparametric chi-square analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Andreassen CN, Alsner J, Overgaard J, Herskind C, Haviland J, Owen R, Homewood J, Bliss J, Yarnold J. TGFB1 polymorphisms are associated with risk of late normal tissue complications in the breast after radiotherapy for early breast cancer. Radiother. Oncol. 2005;75:18–21. - PubMed
    1. Balasubramanian SP, Azmy IA, Higham SE, Wilson AG, Cross SS, Cox A, Brown NJ, Reed MW. Interleukin gene polymorphisms and breast cancer: a case control study and systematic literature review. BMC Cancer. 2006;6:188. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Steer RA, Brown GK. BDI-II Manual. second ed. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation; 1996.
    1. Bower JE, Ganz PA, Aziz N. Altered cortisol response to psychologic stress in breast cancer survivors with persistent fatigue. Psychosom. Med. 2005a;67:277–280. - PubMed
    1. Bower JE, Ganz PA, Aziz N, Fahey JL. Fatigue and proinflammatory cytokine activity in breast cancer survivors. Psychosom. Med. 2002;64:604–611. - PubMed

Publication types