Interleukin-12 Gene Polymorphism and Cervical Cancer Risk

AIM: : To investigate the effect of interleukin-12 p40 gene (IL-12β) 3'-untranslated region polymorphism on the risk of cervical cancer. METHODS: DNA was isolated from peripheral blood of 200 patients with cervical cancer and 200 healthy controls. Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism was used for the detection of IL-12β (1188A/C) gene polymorphism. RESULTS: It was observed that genotypes AC [odds ratio (OR) = 1.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17-2.78] and AC + CC (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.11-2.63, P = 0.01) increase the risk of cervical cancer. The strength of the risk in passive smokers with AC and AC + CC genotypes was increased to more than 2.8 times in comparison with a nonsmoker with AA genotype (OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.56-5.55, P < 0.001; OR = 2.83, 95% CI = 1.52-5.31, P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: This is the first study to provide an evidence for the association of IL-12β (1188A/C) gene polymorphism with the risk of cervical cancer.