Association between circulating interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) levels and IL-1 beta C-511T polymorphism with cervical cancer risk in Egyptian women

Cancer cervix is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. It is believed that the host genetic factors such as inflammation-induced cytokines may play a role in cervical carcinogenesis. The interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) gene contains several single nucleotide polymorphisms. One of them, C-511T, which in the promoter region has been associated with increased IL-1 beta production and with increased risk of developing cancers. We assessed the association between the IL-1 beta C-511T polymorphism and cervical cancer risk in a case-control study among 100 histopathologically confirmed Egyptian women with cervical cancer and 50 age-matched, cervical cytology negative, healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Plasma levels of IL-1 beta were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. There was significant increase in the mean plasma IL-1 beta level in cervical cancer cases (43.40 +/- 25.95 pg/ml) when compared with controls (30.51 +/- 18.28 pg/ml, P = 0.002). The plasma levels above the 75th percentile of controls (IL-1 beta >= 45.74 pg/ml) were significantly associated with a 2.49-fold increased risk of cervical cancer. The significant increase in IL-1 beta concentration in cervical cancer cases was observed only among cervical cancer cases carrying C-511T variant genotypes. T/T genotype of IL-1 beta polymorphism was significantly higher in cervical cancer cases compared with controls (57 vs. 38\%; OR = 2.16; P = 0.028) and the T allele carriage was significantly associated with cervical cancer risk (OR = 2.00, 95\% CI = 1.19-3.38, and P = 0.008). In conclusion, plasma IL-1 beta level and IL-1 beta C-511T polymorphism may be considered as candidate biomarkers for cervical cancer in Egyptian women.