Interleukin-1B-31 gene polymorphism in Hakka gastric cancer patients in Guangdong, China.

The aim of this study was to examine the interleukin-1B (IL-1B) gene promoter region -31 (IL-1B-31) polymorphism distribution characteristic of Hakka gastric cancer patients in Guangdong Province and to explore its association with gastric cancer. We used the 1:1 case-control method, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization flight time mass spectrometry, and MassARRAY-IPLEX technology to genotype IL-1B-31 (-31C> T) in 52 Hakka gastric cancer patients and 52 Hakka control subjects in Meizhou. Three genotypes - CT, TT, and CC - of IL-1B-31 were found in the Meizhou Hakka population. Their distribution frequencies in the gastric cancer group were 40.38, 40.38, and 19.23%, respectively, whereas the frequencies in control subjects were 57.69, 17.31, and 25.00%, respectively. The differences in frequency distributions of the genotypes between the 2 groups were statistically significant (chi-square = 6.78, P < 0.05). Subjects with the TT genotype had a higher risk of gastric cancer compared with that in subjects carrying the CT genotype (odds ratio = 2.857, 95% confidence interval = 1.114-7.328). This risk was more apparent in male subjects. IL-1B-31 locus polymorphism may be associated with gastric cancer susceptibility in this population, but additional studies with larger sample size are needed to confirm the conclusions.