IL-27, a new member of the IL-12 family, has been found to have antitumor effects in colorectal cancer (CRC); therefore, polymorphisms of this protein may modulate CRC carcinogenesis. So, we studied the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the IL-27 gene with the risk of CRC occurrence using a case-control using 600 CRC patients and matched healthy controls. The IL-27 rs153109 polymorphism was analyzed with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing methods. Data indicate that GG, GA, and combined A-variant genotypes (GG + GA) conferred significantly greater risk of CRC (P=0.034, 0.002, and 0.001, respectively), and that G alleles were associated with higher susceptibility to CRC (P=0.001). However, no correlation was found between the IL-27 rs153109 polymorphism and particular clinical features. In conclusion, our data demonstrated a clear association of IL-27 rs153109 polymorphism and the risk of CRC development.
Keywords: CRC; IL-27; polymorphism.