Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the associations between immune response-related genes – STAT4, IL8RA  and CCR7  polymorphisms and risk of lung cancer.
Methods: Seven polymorphisms of STAT4, IL8RA  and CCR7  were genotyped in 350 cases and 350 controls using a MassARRAY platform.
Results: The STAT4  rs1400656-G and rs7574865-T alleles may decrease the susceptibility to lung cancer (p _rs1400656= 0.020; p _rs7574865= 0.014); while IL8RA  rs1008562-C and CCR7  rs3136685-T alleles may increase the risk of disease (p _rs1008562< 0.001; p _rs3136685= 0.018). The STAT4  rs1400656-GA and rs7574865-GT genotypes were determined as protective genotypes against lung cancer risk (p _rs1400656= 0.048; p _rs7574865= 0.042). However, IL8RA  rs1008562-CG/GG and CCR7  rs3136685-TT genotypes were significantly associated with an elevated risk of disease (p _rs1008562< 0.0001; p _rs3136685= 0.020). Genetic model analysis revealed that STAT4  rs1400656 and rs7574865 were relate to a declining risk of disease under dominant and log-additive models (rs1400656: p _dominant = 0.014, p _log-additive= 0.016; rs7574865: p _dominant = 0.013, p _log-additive= 0.013). In contrast, IL8RA  rs1008562 exhibited a strong correlation with an elevated risk of lung cancer under all three models (p _dominant < 0.0001, p _recessive = 0.011, p _log-additive< 0.0001). Moreover, CCR7  rs3136685 was correlated with an increased risk of disease under recessive and log-additive models (p _recessive = 0.007, p _log-additive= 0.019); and CCR7  rs17708087 was also identified as a risk factor in the dominant model (p = 0.038).
Conclusion: These results widen the scope of knowledge about the association between STAT4, IL8RA  and CCR7  polymorphisms and risk of lung cancer.
Keywords: lung cancer, signal transducers and activators of transcription 4, STAT4 , interleukin 8-receptor alpha, IL8RA , Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 7, CCR7 , single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs