TGF-β1 and IL-10 single nucleotide polymorphisms as risk factors for oral cancer in Taiwanese

Cytokine production capacity varies among individuals and depends on cytokine gene polymorphisms. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) plays a significant role in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of epithelial cells. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an immunoregulatory cytokine with biological functions of anti-inflammation, immunosuppression, allergy, and anti-agenesis. The two cytokines are supposed to play an important role in carcinogenesis. The association between cytokine gene polymorphisms with oral cancer (OC) was investigated. We studied the association between the polymorphism in TGF-β1 (G to C polymorphism at codon 25 <+915>) and IL-10 (-1082 G/A, -819 C/T, and -592 C/A) and the risk of OC in patients (n = 162) and healthy controls (n = 118) in Taiwan. All genotyping experiments were performed using the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method. It was found that the codon 25 GC genotype of TGF-β1 is significantly higher in frequency in patients with OC compared with a healthy control group (p < 0.0001). People with the GC genotype in codon 25 had an 11.09-fold increased risk of OC [odds ratio (OR) = 11.09; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 6.16-113.23]. IL-10 polymorphisms in -819 and -592 positions correlated with the risk of OC (p < 0.0001). The IL-10 -592 C allele-containing genotypes posed an increased risk of OC (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.11-2.91). People with the CT genotype in IL-10 -819 had a 3.32-fold increased risk of OC (OR = 3.32; 95% CI = 1.64-6.94). The results suggest that polymorphisms in TGF-β1 and IL-10 may have a significant influence on the development of OC.