The association between polymorphisms of class II cytokine receptor genes and risk of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Chronic inflammation caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections plays pivotal role in developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Class II cytokine receptors and their ligands are key antiviral and inflammatory modulators, however, the associations between genetic variations in the genes of class II cytokine receptors and HBVrelated HCC risk are not determined yet. In the present study, we investigated the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in class II cytokine receptor genes and risk of HBV-related HCC. Five functional SNPs (rs2229207, rs1051393, rs2834167, rs2257167 and rs9808753) in code regions of 4 class II cytokine receptor genes (IFNAR1, IFNAR2, IFNGR2 and IL10RB) were genotyped using TaqMan genotyping assay in a hospital-based cohort with HBV infections patients, and their associations with HCC risk were evaluated by logistic regression model. Our data showed that SNP rs2257167 in IFNAR1 was significantly associated with risk of HBV-related HCC. In the stratified analysis, the association between rs2257167 and HCC risk remained significant in multiple subgroups under dominant genetic model. Furthermore, joint analysis suggested that there was significant interaction between rs2257167 genotypes and HBV-related HCC risk in female patients with P for interaction of 0.003. Conclusively, our study showed that IFNAR1, a gene of class II cytokine receptor cluster, may be a potential genetic biomarker for HBV-related HCC risk prediction after further validation.