Background: Different studies indicate that immunological components play a key role in the development of cancer. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is known to be critically involved in ovarian carcinogenesis and in other solid tumors. Therefore, we investigated the possible influence of the polymorphism of the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1 RA) genes on the development of ovarian cancer.
Patients and methods: In a prospective study we analyzed the polymorphism of the IL-1 RA gene in 108 women with ovarian cancer compared with 112 patients with benign gynecological diseases. Genomic DNA fragments were amplified by PCR.
Results: The distribution of genotype frequencies was significantly different between the study and control group with respect to allele 1/2 heterozygotes (32.4% versus 15.2%; P = 0.004). Patients who were heterozygous at allele 2 for IL-1 RA (IL-RA 1/2) had a significantly higher risk of ovarian cancer with a calculated odds ratio of 2.7 (95% confidence interval 1.4-5.2). There were no differences between IL-1 RA 1/2 polymorphism and all other alleles in tumor stage (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics), histological type, grading, postoperative tumor volume, volume of ascites, recurrence status or age.
Conclusions: The allele 2 polymorphism of the IL-1 RA gene seems to play a role in the occurrence of ovarian cancer and should be investigated for screening and risk evaluation.