Cytokine gene variants and treatment outcome of cisplatin-based concomitant chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer
Atar Singh Kushwah, MK Gupta, Rahul Singh, Monisha Banerjee
Abstract
Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women after breast cancer. Its standard treatment is cisplatin-based concomitant chemoradiotherapy. Chronic inflammation in uterine cervix triggers both pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways. The unpredictability in toxicity and efficacy of treatment is a major challenge. We hypothesized a link between IL-1, IL-6 and TNF gene variants and treatment response.Material & Methods: We genotyped 246 cervical cancer cases and 246 controls by PCR, PCR-RFLP and ARMS-PCR. Treatment and response were evaluated by RECIST criteria. Chemotherapy and radiation doses were same for all patients, whilst 48 were followed-up for 36 months after treatment.Results: SNPs in IL-1RN, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNFα were linked with cervical cancer. Cases with certain allele combinations in IL-1RN, IL-1β, IL-6(-597A/G) and TNF-α showed odds ratios (95% CI) of up to 17.54 (2.7–24.08) for the presence of cervical cancer. Variant IL-1β (-511T/C) was linked to vital status but none were linked to overall survival.Conclusion: Certain cytokine gene variants may help detect susceptibility to cervical cancer and predict response to chemoradiotherapy.