Purpose: Some studies have investigated the association of IL-2 -330T/G (rs2069762) polymorphism with cancer risk, but the previous results were conflicting and had relatively low statistical power. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimation of the association between IL-2 -330T/G polymorphism and cancer risk.
Methods: A literature search was performed systematically using electronic databases. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the pooled effect.
Results: A total of ten studies including 3,060 cases and 3,435 controls were involved in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that IL-2 -330T/G polymorphism was significantly associated with cancer risk ([OR =2.03, 95% CI =1.40-2.95] for GG vs TT; [OR =1.37, 95% CI =1.11-1.69] for GT vs TT; [OR =1.46, 95% CI =1.18-1.81] for [GG + GT] vs TT; [OR =1.66, 95% CI =1.24-2.23] for GG vs [GT + TT]; and [OR =1.35, 95% CI =1.16-1.57] for G vs T). In the subgroup analysis according to cancer type, significant association was found in lymphoma ([OR =1.46, 95% CI =1.11-1.91] for GT vs TT; [OR =1.58, 95% CI =1.22-2.05] for [GG + GT] vs TT; [OR =1.84, 95% CI =1.22-2.77] for GG vs [GT + TT]) and other cancers, but not in gastric cancer. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the significant risk was found among Asians, but not among Europeans.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that IL-2 -330T/G polymorphism has an increased risk of cancer in Asians. However, further detailed studies are still required to confirm our findings.
Keywords: IL-2; cancer; meta-analysis; polymorphism; risk.