Background: Potential functional allele A/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of Interleukin 8 (IL-8) promoter -251 has been implicated in gastric cancer risk.
Methods: We aimed to explore the role of A/T SNP of IL-8 -251 in the susceptibility to gastric cancer through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Each initially included article was scored for quality appraisal. Desirable data were extracted and registered into databases. Eighteen studies were ultimately eligible for the meta-analysis of IL-8 - 251 A/T SNP. We adopted the most probably appropriate genetic model (codominant model). Potential sources of heterogeneity were sought out via stratification and sensitivity analyses, and publication biases were estimated.
Results: Between IL-8 -251 AA genotype with gastric cancer risk, statistically significant association could be noted with overall gastric cancer, evidently noted in Asians, witnessed in high quality subgroup, and apparently noted in intestinal-type gastric cancer.
Conclusions: Our meta-analysis indicates that IL-8 -251 AA genotype is associated with the overall risk of developing gastric cancer and may seem to be more susceptible to overall gastric cancer in Asian populations. IL-8 -251 AA genotype is more associated with the intestinal-type gastric cancer. IL-8 -251 AA genotype is not associated with Helicobacter Pylori infection status in our meta-analysis.
Impact: The analyses suggest that IL-8 -251 AA genotype may be an important biomarker of gastric cancer susceptibility for Asians, especially for Chinese Han population, the assumption that needs to be further confirmed in future well-designed studies in China.