Increased risks between Interleukin-10 gene polymorphisms and haplotype and head and neck cancer: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Molecular epidemiological research suggests that interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphisms may be associated with an increased risk of head and neck cancer (HNC), but results remain controversial. To derive a more precise evaluation, we performed a meta-analysis focused on genetic polymorphisms of IL-10. PubMed, Embase, CNKI and Wanfang databases were searched for studies that examined the relationship between IL-10 polymorphisms or haplotypes and HNC risk. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were applied to assess the relationship strength. Publication bias, sensitivity and cumulative analyses were conducted to measure the robustness of our findings. Overall, nine related studies involving 2,258 patients and 2,887 control samples were analyzed. Significant associations between the IL-10-1082A > G polymorphism and HNC risk were observed (G vs. A: OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.27-1.92, P < 0.01, I(2) = 69.4%; AG vs. AA: OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.32-2.05, P < 0.01, I(2) = 55.6%; GG vs. AA: OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.69-2.97, P < 0.01, I(2) = 38.5%; AG + GG vs. AA: OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.36-2.14, P = 0.02, I(2) = 61.8%; GG vs. AA + AG: OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.23-2.90, P = 0.01, I(2) = 46.3%) in the total population, as well as in subgroup analysis. Moreover, increased HNC risks were also associated with the IL-10 -819T > C polymorphism and the GCC haplotype. In conclusion, our meta-analyses suggest that IL-10 polymorphisms, specifically the -1082A > G polymorphism, may be associated with increased risk of HNC development.

Figure 1. Flow diagram of the study selection process.

Figure 2. Calculated OR and 95% CIs for the associations between IL-10 −1082A > G polymorphism and HNC risk in the AG + GG vs. AA model ((A) for overall populations; (B) for ethnicity subgroup; (C) for control sources subgroup; (D) for cancer location subgroup).

Figure 3. Sensitivity analysis via deletion of each individual study reflects the relative influence of each individual dataset on the pooled ORs in the AG + GG vs. AA model ofIL-10 −1082A > G polymorphism.

Figure 4. Cumulative meta-analyses according to publication year in the AG + GG vs. AA model of IL-10 −1082A > G polymorphism.

Figure 5. Funnel plot analysis to detect publication bias for AG + GG vs. AA model of IL-10 −1082A > G polymorphism.

Circles represent the weight of the studies.