Interleukins-6 -174G/C (rs1800795) and -572C/G (rs1800796) polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk

Prostate cancer (PCa) is an aggressive cancer influenced by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Amongst these risk factors, the impact of Interleukin6 (IL6) gene polymorphisms in PCa risk has received a lot of attention. IL-6 is a cytokine that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several malignancies, including PCa. Two IL-6 gene polymorphisms, - 174 G/C (rs1800795) and - 572 C/G (rs1800796), have received intellectual attention due to their potential role as modulators of prostate cancer risk. The main objective of this research was to comprehensively explore the potential associations between IL-6 rs1800795 and rs1800796 polymorphisms, and their impact on the occurrence of PCa. A case-control study was carried out with a well-defined cohort comprising 110 PCa cases and 110 controls (total n = 220). The genotyping of rs1800795 and rs1800796 was carefully performed using the highly sensitive and accurate Polymerase Chain Reaction-High Resolution Melting Curve (PCR-HRM) technique. The assessment of genetic associations was evaluated using various R packages, such as Haplo-Stats, SNP stat, pheatmap, and LD heatmap. The present study applied odds ratio (OR) analysis to reveal significant evidence of strong associations between the genotypes of rs1800795 and rs1800796 and the susceptibility to PCa. The findings of this study underscore the noteworthy impact of genetic variations in the IL-6 gene on the development of prostate cancer. Specifically, the C/G and G/G genotypes of rs1800795 demonstrated increased PCa risk, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.650 (95% CI = 1.068-2.549, p = 0.032) and 2.475 (95% CI = 1.215-5.043, p < 0.001), respectively. Similarly, the G/C genotype of rs1800796 exhibited an OR of 2.374 (95% CI = 1.363-4.130, p = 0.012) for elevated prostate cancer risk, while the C/C genotype had an OR of 1.81 (95% CI = 1.02-3.22, p = 0.7). Furthermore, our haplotype analysis have revealed an association between haplotype 4 (C-G) and increased risk of PCa (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.05-2.73, p = 0.032). In conclusion, this case-control analysis presents compelling evidence for a significant association between IL-6 variants (rs1800795 and rs1800796) and increased susceptibility to prostate cancer.