Interleukin-4 gene, but not the interleukin-1 beta gene polymorphism, is associated with oral cancer

We aimed to evaluate whether polymorphisms of the interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) gene promoter and intron 3 regions, and polymorphisms of the IL‐1 beta gene promoter and exon 5 regions are associated with oral cancer. This study included 130 patients with oral cancer and 105 age‐matched healthy controls who lived in the same area as the patients. Each genetic polymorphism was typed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based restriction analysis. We then compared the genotype distribution and allelic frequencies of each polymorphism between the oral cancer patients and the controls. The CC homozygote genotype of the IL‐4 gene promoter −590 region differed significantly between the patients with oral cancer and the controls (odds ratio (OR)=6.0, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2−30.7, chi‐square test, P=0.044). No significant difference in either the genotype distribution or the allelic frequencies of the IL‐1 beta gene polymorphisms was observed between patients with oral cancer and controls. The IL‐4 gene −590 C/T polymorphism is associated with oral cancer and is a suitable genetic marker for screening for oral cancer. However, whether the −590 C/T polymorphism of the IL4 gene plays a role in oral cancer remains unclear. Further substantiation based on larger patient samples is needed. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 19:93–98, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.