Interleukin-6 gene -572G/C polymorphism and prostate cancer risk

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the interleukin-6 (IL-6) -572G/C polymorphism correlates with prostate cancer. METHODS: According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, the association of the IL-6 -572G/C polymorphism with prostate cancer was searched in databases and analyzed using comprehensive meta-analysis software. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the associations. RESULTS: We considered a total of six case-control studies including 2237 patients and 1754 controls and the meta-analysis results showed significant association between the IL-6 -572G/C polymorphism and prostate cancer risk(CC vs GG: OR = 0.49, 95% CI =0.37–0.65;CG vs GG: OR =0.71, 95% CI = 0.58–0.87; the dominant model: OR =0.65, 95% CI = 0.54–0.79;the recessive model: OR =0.70, 95% CI = 0.58–0.85). In stratified analyses by ethnicity, significant associations were found among Asian populations. However, no significant association was found in Caucasian populations. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrated that the -572G/C polymorphism of the IL-6 gene may be a risk factor for the development of prostate cancer in Asians.