IL-7R gene variants are associated with breast cancer susceptibility in Chinese Han women

Background: Interleukin 7 receptor (IL-7R) is a member of the type I cytokine receptor family, which affects the occurrence of various tumors by forming a signaling complex with its ligand Interleukin 7 (IL-7). This study aimed to explore the potential relationships of IL-7R polymorphisms with breast cancer susceptibility in the Chinese Han women.

Methods: Five polymorphisms of IL-7R gene (rs969129, rs10213865, rs10053847, rs118137916, and rs6451231) form 553 patients and 550 healthy individuals among the Chinese Han women were genotyped using Agena MassARRAY platform. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to evaluate the relationship.

Results: The resulted of this study showed that rs10213865 was related to an increased breast cancer risk in allele (P = 0.045), dominant (P = 0.040), and log-additive (P = 0.029) models. As for rs969129, an increased risk of breast cancer was found in the allele (P = 0.018), co-dominant (P = 0.017), recessive (P = 0.034), and additive (P = 0.019) models. Rs6451231 was related to an increased risk of breast cancer under allele (P = 0.018), co-dominant (P = 0.021), and log-additive (P = 0.019) models. Age stratified analysis revealed that rs6451231 could enhance risk of breast cancer among the individuals older than 52 years. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between haplotype C_rs969129G_rs10213865A_rs10053847G_rs118137916 and the decreased risk of breast cancer (P = 0.010).

Conclusions: This study firstly proved that IL-7R polymorphisms were significantly correlated with an increased susceptibility of breast cancer in the Chinese Han women.