# Association of the IL-10 and IL-18 polymorphisms with nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk

## TL;DR

This study finds that certain genetic variations in IL-10 and IL-18 are linked to a higher risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, especially in Asian populations.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific polymorphisms in IL-10 and IL-18 that are associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma risk, particularly in Asian populations.

## Key findings

- IL-18 607C>A and 137G>C polymorphisms are significantly associated with increased NPC risk across multiple models.
- IL-10 1082A>G is significantly linked to NPC risk in Asian populations under all genetic models.
- IL-8 251A>T and IL-10 819T>C polymorphisms show no significant association with NPC risk.

## Abstract

To evaluate the possible association of the cytokine polymorphisms with the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

We performed a comprehensive search of electronic databases from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and CNKI. Articles related to the cytokine polymorphisms in patients with NPC and healthy controls from inception to 1 April 2024 were included. The results were analysed independently by two reviewers using RevMan 5.4 software. Summary odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate cancer risk.

Our results showed that IL-10 1082A>G showed a significant difference only in the Dominant model, but in the Asian population, a significant difference was shown in all models. IL-18 607C>A polymorphism showed significant differences in the Allele model, Heterozygote model, and Homozygote model. In addition, the IL-18 137G>C polymorphism showed significant differences in all models. No statistically significant association was found between IL-8 251A>T, IL-10 819T>C polymorphism, and the risk of NPC.

Our meta-analysis results suggest that the IL-18 607C>A and IL-18 137G>C polymorphism are associated with the increased risk of NPC, and IL-10-1082 A/G polymorphism is associated with the increased risk of NPC in Asian populations.