Purpose: IL-7/IL-7R  axis participates in the initiation and progression of lung cancer (LC). This study aimed to explore the potential influence of IL-7/IL-7R  polymorphisms on LC risk.
Patients and methods: In total, 1,010 participants (507 LC patients and 503 healthy controls) were enrolled. Five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-7R  and one SNP in IL-7  were genotyped in included samples with Agena MassARRAY system. OR and 95% CIs were computed by logistic regression analysis after adjusting for age and gender. Stratified analyses with demographic and clinical characteristics were also performed. Finally, linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis was conducted with the PLINK version 1.07 software.
Results: IL-7R  rs10053847 variant was related to a decreased LC risk under the allele gene (OR =0.78, P =0.043) and additive model (OR =0.77, P =0.042). The results of stratified analysis indicated that this SNP was associated with a lower LC risk among nonsmokers (AA/GG: OR =0.09, P =0.033; AA/AG+GG: OR =0.10 P =0.037) or nondrinkers (AA/GG: OR =0.07, P =0.047; AA/AG+GG: OR =0.18 P =0.049). Moreover, carriers of IL-7R  rs10213865-C allele had an increased lung adenocarcinoma risk (CA/AA: OR =1.60, P =0.011; CC+CA/AA: OR =1.62, P =0.007; CA/CA/AA: OR =1.50, P =0.007). Additionally, AGAA haplotype (rs10213865, rs969129, rs118137916 and rs10053847) increased LC risk (OR =1.30, P =0.041).
Conclusion: IL-7R  rs10053847 was correlated with a decreased LC risk, while IL-7R  rs10213865 was correlated with an elevated lung adenocarcinoma risk, implying these two SNPs might play essential roles in LC risk evaluation.
Keywords: lung cancer, IL-7R , IL-7 , polymorphisms, cancer susceptibility, case-control study