The interleukin-18-607A/C polymorphism is not associated with risk for oral cancer

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of angiogenesis-inhibitor interleukin-18 (IL-18) with risk for oral cancer, with regard to the recently found contribution of cytokines to carcinogenesis. Patients and Methods: The -607A/C polymorphism in the promoter region of the IL-18 gene, which affects transcription, was studied in 149 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 89 matched healthy controls. Results: The detected carrier and allele frequencies of the low transcription A allele were not significantly different in patients in comparison with controls (63.1% versus 60.7%, p=0.78 and 40.9% versus 42.7%, p=0.77, respectively). The same non-significant pattern was observed in subgroups of patients regarding cancer stage, family history of cancer or thrombosis, as well as smoking or heavy drinking habits. Conclusion: Despite the known inhibitory effect of IL-18 in angiogenesis, IL-18 gene expression is not a contributing factor in oral oncogenesis.