Interleukin-2 -330T>G genetic polymorphism associates with prognosis following surgery for thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer.

Background: Key molecules in the T helper (Th)1 and Th2 pathways underlie differential responses to the progression and surgical treatment of cancer. We investigated the relationship between Th1/Th2 cytokine polymorphism and prognosis in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer.

Materials And Methods: The study participants were 159 Japanese patients treated for thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer with curative esophagectomy at Akita University Hospital. We determined the associations between prognosis following esophagectomy and genetic polymorphisms in Th1 cytokines (interleukin [IL]-2, Interferon-γ, IL-12β), and Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-10).

Results: IL-2 -330T>G genetic polymorphism was significantly associated with prognosis after esophagectomy. Univariate and multivariate analyses using a Cox proportional hazards model revealed that patients carrying the IL-2 -330G/G genotype had a significantly poorer prognosis than those carrying the T/G or T/T genotype. However, IL-2 -330T>G polymorphism was not associated with preoperative serum IL-2 levels. Moreover, interferon-γ, IL-12β, IL-4, and IL-10 genetic polymorphisms were not associated with prognosis after esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer.

Conclusions: It is suggested that IL-2 -330T>G genetic polymorphism may be a predictive factor for prognosis in patients receiving esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal squamous cell cancer.