the role of interleukin 1β gene polymorphism in gastric cancer in north-eastern iran

background and objective: host genetic factors such as cytokine gene polymorphisms as well as helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) infection have been found to be associated with gastric cancer risk . interleukin 1 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in h. pylori-induced gastric inflammation. therefore, we analyzed the association between il-1β and il-1-rn polymorphisms and gastric cancer in persian residents in north-eastern iran. methods: in a case-control study, the genotyping was carried out by pcr-rflp in 109 gastric cancer patients and 101 randomly-selected healthy controls. the polymorphic sites include promoter region of il-1β at 511 (c-t transition) position and il-rn vntr h. pylori infection was determined by elisa assay in patients. results: no significant differences were observed in the allele and genotype frequency of il-1β-511 and il-1rn vntr between patients and control. genotype frequencies in healthy controls were not significantly different from gastric cancer cases in separate histological types (intestinal or diffuse). il- 1β-511 ct genotype frequency was significantly higher among healthy subjects than h. pylori positive gastric cancer patients (41.6% vs. 20%, p = 0.01, or 0.30, 95% ci: 0.11-0.76). meanwhile, relatively higher frequency of il-1β-511 t genotype was observed among h. pylori positive cases as compared to healthy controls (42.9% vs. 26.7%, p = 0.06, or 2.16, 95% ci: 0.96-4.8) conclusion: our results suggest the association between il-1β-511 polymorphism and h. pylori infection and their contribution to the risk of gastric cancer. while il-1β-511 ct genotype has a protective effect against h. pylori associated gastric carcinoma, il-1β-511 tt may increase the risk.