Interleukin-16 rs4778889 polymorphism contributes to the development of renal cell cancer in a Chinese population

We conducted a case-control study to assess the role of IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218 and rs8034928 polymorphisms in the development of RCC. This case-control study included 181 patients with RCC and 278 control patients. The genotyping of IL-16 rs4778889, rs11556218 and rs8034928 polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. By χ(2) test, we found that patients with RCC were more likely to suffer from hypertension (χ(2) = 9.06, P = 0.003) and diabetes (χ(2) = 7.91, P = 0.005). By unconditional logistic regression analysis, the CC genotype of rs4778889 was associated with an increased risk of RCC compared to TT genotype, and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 3.58 (1.59-8.31). In dominant model and recessive model, we found the rs4778889 polymorphisms were associated with an elevated increased risk of RCC, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 1.64 (1.10-2.43) and 3.07 (1.40-6.98), respectively. We found that rs4778889 polymorphism had interaction with hypertension (OR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.01-6.00) and diabetes (OR = 6.91, 95% CI = 1.44-37.05) in the risk of RCC. In conclusion, the results of our study suggested an association between the IL-16 rs4778889 polymorphism and an elevated risk of RCC.