Association of interleukin-12 gene polymorphisms with cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between interleukin-12 (IL-12) gene polymorphism and cervical cancer susceptibility. METHODS We comprehensively retrieved the relevant English and Chinese database to collect case-control studies on the association between the IL-12 gene polymorphism and cervical cancer susceptibility. Data were extracted independently by two researchers respectively, the summary data were analyzed using Revman 5.2 software, the association was described using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 5 case-control studies involving 2552 cervical cancer patients and 2232 healthy controls were included. The meta-analysis results showed that 3'UTR+1188 (rs3212227) polymorphism in IL-12 gene was not associated with cervical cancer risk (C vs. A: OR=1.09, 95% CI: 0.88~1.35, P=0.45; AA+AC vs. CC: OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.67~1.15, P=0.34; AA vs. AC+CC: OR=0.89. 95% CI: 0.56-1.42, P=0.62; CC vs. AA: OR=1.30. 95% CI: 0.79-2.12, P=0.30). CONCLUSION The available evidence suggested that rs3212227 polymorphism in IL-12 gene may not be the risk factor to cervical cancer.