Relationships between Common and Novel Interleukin-6 Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Cervical Cancer: a Case-Control Study

Impact of interaction between interleukin-6 gene polymorphism and Helicobacter pylori infection on susceptibility to gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the association between four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene and gastric cancer (GC), and impact of interaction between IL-6 SNPs and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori ) infection on susceptibility to GC.

METHODS

Logistic regression was used to test the relationships between four SNPs of IL-6 gene and GC susceptibility. A generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) model was employed to assess the interaction effect between IL-6 gene and H. pylori infection on GC risk.

RESULTS

Logistic regression analysis indicated that the rs1800795-C allele was associated with increased GC risk, adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 1.80 (1.21-2.41) (CC vs. GG) and 1.68 (1.09-2.30) (C vs. G), respectively. The rs10499563-C allele was associated with decreased risk of GC, and adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 0.62 (0.31-0.93) (TC vs. TT), 0.52 (0.18-0.89) (CC vs. TT) and 0.60 (0.29-0.92) (C vs. T), respectively. GMDR methods found a two-dimensional model combination (including rs1800795 and H. pylori infection) was statistically significant. The selected model had testing balanced accuracy of 59.85% and the best cross-validation consistencies of 10/10 ( P  = 0.0107). Compared with H. pylori -negative subjects with rs1800795- GG genotype, H. pylori -positive participants with GC or CC genotype had the highest risk of GC, the OR (95% CI) was 3.34 (1.78-4.97).

CONCLUSION

The rs1800795-C allele was associated with increased GC risk and the rs10499563-C allele was associated with decreased GC risk. The interaction between rs1800795 and H. pylori infection was also correlated with increased risk of GC.

Molecular Investigation of the Association Among Common Interleukin-6 Polymorphism and Human Papillomavirus Genotypes with Cervical Cancer Among Iranian Women

Cervical cancer is the fourth most commonly identified cancer and the third important reason for cancer-related death among women in less developed nations. Aside from the human papillomavirus (HPV), the host genetic factors, especially some polymorphisms in the interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene, might relate to the risk of cervical cancer. This study aims to investigate the molecular investigation of HPV infection and its association with the common polymorphism of IL-6 in cervical carcinoma in Iran. This case-control study collected 62 precancerous and cancerous lesions and 62 healthy samples from cancer-free women, subsequent negative colposcopy, and cervical cytology. The frequency of HPV genotypes and the genotyping of IL-6 rs1800795 and rs1800796 were done by different PCR techniques. Results were analyzed using the Epi Info version 7, 2012, with the χ2 test. Compared with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CINI), the HPV positivity rate is saliently higher in CINII/III and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (56.25%, 66.66%, and 73.63%, respectively, p < 0.001). The HPV positivity rate is also higher in SCC in comparison with CINII/III (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the most detected HPV genotypes were HPV16 and 33 in CINI; HPV16, 31, and 35 in CINII/III; and HPV16 and 18 in SCC groups. HPV16 was the most commonly detected genotype in CINI, CINII/III, and SCC, accounting for 44.44%, 50%, and 71.42%, respectively. In addition, the frequency of GG, CG, and CC genotypes from rs1800795 polymorphism was 0.58, 0.32, and 0.10, respectively (p = 0.033), but in the control group, it was 0.70, 0.27, and 0.03, respectively. The findings suggest that HPV16 plays an important role in the emergence of cervical lesions in Iranian patients. As a result, rs1800795 CC genotype and HPV might increase cervical cancer risk in Iranian women.

Polymorphisms of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene contribute to cervical cancer susceptibility in Bangladeshi women: A case-control study

Background and Aims

Cervical cancer is characterized by abnormal cell growth in the lining of cervix and it is the second major cause of cancer-related deaths among females in Bangladesh. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that has been heavily linked with cervical cancer. Our aim was to investigate the association of two promoter single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL-6 (rs1800795 and rs1800797) with the susceptibility of cervical cancer in Bangladeshi women.

Methods

DNA was extracted from venous blood samples from cervical cancer patients (n = 126) and healthy controls (n = 120). Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used for genotyping of the selected SNPs. Logistic regression was performed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p values.

Results

We found a significant association between rs1800795 and rs1800797 polymorphisms and cervical cancer. For, rs1800795 (G > C) the GC heterozygous genotype (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.55-5.07, p = 0.0007) and CC mutant homozygous genotype (OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.29-9.51, p = 0.014) conferred an increased risk of cervical cancer. In case of rs1800797 (G > A) polymorphism, the AG heterozygous genotype (OR = 6.94, 95% CI = 3.76-12.81, p < 0.0001) and AA mutant homozygous genotype (OR = 3.88, 95% CI = 1.12-13.51, p = 0.0332) also exhibited an elevated risk of cervical cancer. Use of contraceptives was found as risk factor and patients who smoke were carriers of both the risk alleles and thus had an increased risk of cervical cancer.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that polymorphism of rs1800795 and rs1800797 of the IL-6 gene play a significant role in cervical cancer susceptibility in Bangladeshi women.

Genetic Polymorphism of miR-218-2 (rs11134527) in Cervical Cancer: A Case-Control Study on the Bangladeshi Women

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of Cervical Cancer (CC) is disproportionately higher in developing countries. It is the second most frequent cancer type among Bangladeshi women and the major cause of morbidity and mortality. However, no previous data reported the association of miR-218-2 gene polymorphisms in Bangladeshi cervical cancer patients.

AIM

This case-control study was designed to find the link between the rs11134527 polymorphism in miR-218-2 and CC.

METHODS

A total of 488 subjects were recruited, comprising 256 cervical cancer patients and 232 healthy females. Genotyping was conducted with the tetra-primer ARMS-PCR technique to detect the association.

RESULTS

The results of genotype data showed that rs11134527 was in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in both CC cases and controls (P >0.05). Overall, the polymorphism was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer with AG genotype (AG vs. GG: OR = 2.26, 95% Cl = 1.40-3.66, P = 0.0008), AA genotype (AA vs. GG: OR = 3.64, 95% Cl = 2.17-6.10, P <0.0001), dominant model (AG+AA vs. GG: OR = 2.75, 95% Cl = 1.75-4.31, P <0.0001), recessive model (AA vs. GG+AG: OR = 2.08, 95% Cl = 1.41-3.08, P = 0.0002), and A allele (A vs. G: OR = 1.94, 95% Cl = 1.51-2.51, P <0.0001). All of these correlations remained statistically significant after performing Bonferroni correction (P <0.008).

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that the rs11134527 polymorphism in the miR-218-2 gene contributes to the susceptibility of CC in Bangladeshi women.

IL-6 597A/G (rs1800797) and 174G/C (rs1800795) Gene Polymorphisms in the Development of Cervical Cancer in Lithuanian Women

Our study aimed to evaluate the distribution of genotypes and allele frequencies of IL-6 597A/G (rs1800797) and 174G/C (rs1800795) polymorphisms in HPV infected and uninfected healthy women and cervical cancer patients. A PCR based Multiplex HPV genotyping test kit was used for in vitro detection and differentiation of high risk HPV genotypes. Genotyping of two polymorphisms, IL-6 597A/G (rs1800797) and 174G/C (rs1800795), was performed using the KASP genotyping assay kit. Cervical cancer patients were more likely to be HPV positive than control patients. Allele C of IL-6 rs1800795 was associated with a higher risk of cervical cancer by 2.26-fold and genotype CC by 5.37-fold. Genotype CC of IL-6 rs1800795 was more frequent in the HPV positive group compared with the HPV negative group (p = 0.002). Allele G of IL-6 rs1800797 was more frequently found in women with HPV16/HPV18 compared to other HPV types (p = 0.045). Women with AA genotypes of IL-6 rs1800797 were less frequently infected with HPV16/HPV18 compared to other HPV types (p = 0.045). The major finding of the study is the significant association of C allele and CC genotype of IL-6 1800795 gene with cervical cancer in the Lithuanian population. Genotype CC of IL-6 rs1800795 has a significant association with HPV infection as well.

Cervical Cancer Diagnosis: Insights into Biochemical Biomarkers and Imaging Techniques

Cervical malignancy is known as one of the important cancers which is originated from cervix. This malignancy has been observed in women infected with papillomavirus who had regular oral contraceptives, multiple pregnancies, and sexual relations. Early and fast cervical cancer diagnosis is known as two important aspects of cervical cancer therapy. Several investigations indicated that early and fast detection of cervical cancer could be associated with better treatment process and increasing survival rate of patients with this malignancy. Imaging techniques are very important diagnosis tools that could be employed for diagnosis and following responses to therapy in various cervical cancer stages. Multiple lines of evidence indicated that utilization of imaging techniques is related to some limitations (i.e. high cost, and invasive effects). Hence, it seems that along with using imaging techniques, finding and developing new biomarkers could be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of subjects with cervical cancer. Taken together, many studies showed that a variety of biomarkers including, several proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs, exosomes and polymorphisms might be introduced as prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers in cervical cancer therapy. In this review article, we highlighted imaging techniques as well as novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Statistical meta-analysis to investigate the association between the Interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene polymorphisms and cancer risk

A good number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), including meta-analyses, reported that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IL-6 gene are significantly associated with various types of cancer risks, though some other studies reported insignificant association with cancers, in the literature. These contradictory results may be due to variations in sample sizes and/or deficiency of statistical modeling. Therefore, an attempt is made to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the association between the IL-6 gene SNPs (rs1800795, rs1800796, rs1800797) and different cancer risks, giving the weight on a large sample size, including different cancer types and appropriate statistical modeling with the meta-dataset. In order to attain a more reliable consensus decision about the association between the IL-6 gene polymorphisms and different cancer risks, in this study, we performed a multi-case statistical meta-analysis based on the collected information of 118 GWAS studies comprising of 50053 cases and 65204 control samples. Results from this Meta-analysis indicated a significant association (p-value < 0.05) of the IL-6 gene rs1800796 polymorphism with an overall increased cancer risk. The subgroup analysis data based on cancer types exhibited significant association (p-value < 0.05) of the rs1800795 polymorphism with an overall increased risk of cervical, liver and prostate cancers; the rs1800796 polymorphism with lung, prostate and stomach cancers; and the rs1800797 polymorphism with cervical cancer. The subgroup analysis of ethnicity data showed a significant association (p-value < 0.05) of an overall cancer risk with the rs1800795 polymorphism for the African and Asian populations, the rs1800796 polymorphism for the Asian only and the rs1800797 polymorphism in the African population. Comparative discussion showed that our multi-case meta-analyses received more support than any previously reported individual meta-analysis about the association between the IL-6 gene polymorphisms and cancer risks. Results from this study, more confidently showed that the IL-6 gene SNPs (rs1800795, rs1800796 and rs1800797) in humans are associated with increased cancer risks. Therefore, these three polymorphisms of the IL-6 gene have the potential to be evaluated as a population based rapid, low-cost PCR prognostic biomarkers for different types of cancers diagnosis and research.

Is smoking an independent risk factor for developing cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer among women. Smoking tobacco seems to be a risk factor for the development of cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer, but the exact role of smoking in the process of cervical carcinogenesis is not known. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between smoking and the development of CIN and cervical cancer. Areas covered: We searched Embase, Medline, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for studies on smoking and CIN and cervical cancer, published between 2009 and 2018. The following were the outcomes: CIN3 alone, CIN2 and CIN3 combined, CIN2+, CIN3+, and cervical cancer alone. We included 49 studies in our review and 45 in our meta-analyses. Expert opinion: Based on the available evidence it can be - cautiously - concluded that smoking increases the risk of cervical abnormalities. However, the high risk of bias indicates that for future studies, it will be important to adjust for relevant predictors, to separate CIN from cervical cancer as outcome measures, and to report research methods in detail.

A Review of Cancer Genetics and Genomics Studies in Africa

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and is projected to overtake infectious disease as the leading cause of mortality in Africa within the next two decades. Cancer is a group of genomic diseases that presents with intra- and inter-population unique phenotypes, with Black populations having the burden of morbidity and mortality for most types. At large, the prevention and treatment of cancers have been propelled by the understanding of the genetic make-up of the disease of mostly non-African populations. By the same token, there is a wide knowledge gap in understanding the underlying genetic causes of, and genomic alterations associated with, cancer among black Africans. Accordingly, we performed a review of the literature to survey existing studies on cancer genetics/genomics and curated findings pertaining to publications across multiple cancer types conducted on African populations. We used PubMed MeSH terms to retrieve the relevant publications from 1990 to December 2019. The metadata of these publications were extracted using R text mining packages: RISmed and Pubmed.mineR. The data showed that only 0.329% of cancer publications globally were on Africa, and only 0.016% were on cancer genetics/genomics from Africa. Although the most prevalent cancers in Africa are cancers of the breast, cervix, uterus, and prostate, publications representing breast, colorectal, liver, and blood cancers were the most frequent in our review. The most frequently reported cancer genes were BRCA1, BRCA2, and TP53. Next, the genes reported in the reviewed publications’ abstracts were extracted and annotated into three gene ontology classes. Genes in the cellular component class were mostly associated with cell part and organelle part, while those in biological process and molecular function classes were mainly associated with cell process, biological regulation, and binding, and catalytic activity, respectively. Overall, this review highlights the paucity of research on cancer genomics on African populations, identified gaps, and discussed the need for concerted efforts to encourage more research on cancer genomics in Africa.

Single nucleotide polymorphism of transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin-6 as risk factors for ovarian cancer

INTRODUCTION

We investigated the association between common variants in TGF-β1, IL-6 and the risk of ovarian cancer (OC) in Tunisian patients and control women.

MATERIAL METHODS AND RESULTS

Study subjects comprised 71 OC cases and 74 control women. Genotyping of TGF-β1 and IL-6 SNPs was done by real-time PCR. No differences were noted in the minor allele frequencies of the three TGF-β1 SNPs between OC patients and controls. However, marked differences in the distribution of TGF-β1 rs1800469 genotypes were seen between OC cases and controls (p < 0.001), with TGF-β1 rs1800469 heterozygous (C/T) genotype being negatively associated with OC (OR [95% CI] = 0.24 [0.15-0.58]). The allelic and genotypic distributions at IL-6 polymorphisms showed a positive association between minor allele (G) at IL-6 rs1880242 variant (p = 0.0275; R [95% CI] = 1.88 [1.03-3.46]) and the occurrence of OC. In fact, the presence of T allele [G/T + T/T] decrease the risk of OC (p = 0.021; OR [95% CI] = 0.38 [0.17-0.88]). In addition, the Haploview analysis demonstrated high linkage disequilibrium (LD) between IL-6 SNPs and eight-locus haplotype analysis identified that GGAGGGGA and GGAGGGTA haplotypes are positively associated with OC risk. A negative association was shown between IL-6 haplotype (TGGGCCTA) and OC occurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that TGF-β1 rs1800469, IL-6 rs1880242 variants and IL-6 haplotype (TGGGCCTA) have protective roles of OC risk. IL-6 haplotypes (GGAGGGGA and GGAGGGTA) increase OC susceptibility among Tunisian women.

Association of IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background:

Primary studies have shown that the IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer. However, conflicting results warrant a meta-analysis to obtain more precise estimates.

Methods:

A comprehensive literate search on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, and SciELO was performed to collect all eligible studies up to November 10, 2019. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate the risk. This meta-analysis was carried out by utilizing CMA software.

Results:

A total of eleven case-control studies including four studies on IL-12B rs3212227 and seven studies on IL-6rs1800795 were selected. Pooled ORs revealed that the IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer (C vs. G: OR = 1.294, 95% CI 1.071-1.564, p= 0.007; CC vs. GG: OR = 1.633, 95% CI 1.059-2.520, p= 0.027; CC+CG vs. GG: OR = 1.312, 95% CI 1.048-1.643, p= 0.018; and CC vs. CG+GG: OR = 1.592, 95% CI 1.268-1.999, p≤0.001), but not IL-12B rs3212227 polymorphism. Stratified analysis by ethnicity revealed that both IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms were associated with risk of cervical cancer in Asian women.

Conclusions:

Our pooled data revealed that the IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphisms may be used to identify individuals at high risk of cervical cancer in Asian women.

Association between IL1B gene and cervical cancer susceptibility in Chinese Uygur Population: A Case-Control study

BACKGROUND

Interleukin-1β (IL-1B) has been recognized as a pro-inflammatory cytokine and associated with tumorigenesis. We aimed to evaluate the contribution of IL-1B polymorphisms to the susceptibility of cervical cancer in Chinese Uygur population.

METHODS

Seven variants were genotyped by Agena MassARRAY platform in 267 cervical cancer patients and 302 healthy controls. Allelic, genotypic, and haplotypic association analyses adjusted for age were investigated using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). GEPIA and UALCAN databases were used to evaluate expression and prognostic of IL-1B gene in cervical cancer.

RESULTS

Our result revealed IL-1B rs1143627-AA (OR = 1.98, p = 0.029) and rs16944-GG (OR = 2.01, p = 0.025) was associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer. Besides, we also found two protective single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs3136558 (OR = 0.63, p = 0.011) and rs1143630 (OR = 0.63, p = 0.019). Haplotype ″TGA″ in the block (rs1143630, rs1143627, and rs16944) significantly decreased the susceptibility of cervical cancer (OR = 0.53, p = 0.0007). IL-1B mRNA level was up-regulated in the cervical cancer patients, which was related with poor prognosis in silico.

CONCLUSIONS

For the first time, our results provide evidence on polymorphism of IL-1B gene associated with cervical cancer risk in Chinese Uygur population.

The impact of genetic variants in IL1R2 on cervical cancer risk among Uygur females from China: A case-control study

Background

Disordered inflammation and immune response is an acknowledged risk factor for cervical cancer development. Interleukin‐1 receptor type 2 (IL1R2) is a decoy receptor for IL‐1 cytokines and involved in host inflammatory and immune progression which could lead to the lesion and neoplasia of cervix. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationships between IL1R2 polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk in Uygur females from China.

Methods

In this case–control study, genotypes of six selected variants (rs11674595, rs4851527, rs719250, rs3218896, rs3218977, and rs2072472) distributed in IL1R2 were detected among 247 cervical cancer patients and 286 healthy controls with the usage of an Agena MassARRY method. Furthermore, Genetic models and haplotype analyses were conducted to estimate the associations of IL1R2 polymorphisms with cervical cancer risk.

Results

After statistical analyses, rs719250 (odd ratio [OR] = 1.436, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.079–1.911, p = 0.013) and rs3218896 (OR = 1.552, 95% CI = 1.080–2.229, p = 0.017) showed obvious evidence in correlation to cervical cancer susceptibility owing to the surviving significant differences between cases and controls in allele model. Genetic model analyses also revealed significant associations of rs719250 and rs3218896 with cervical cancer risk in the codominant model, the dominant model and the log‐additive model even after adjustment for age (p < 0.05). Moreover, haplotype “T/A” of rs11674595/rs4851527 (adjusted OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.54–0.98, p = 0.037) and “T/C” of rs719250/rs3218896 (adjusted OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.10–2.36, p = 0.015) exhibited protective and risky effects for Uygur individuals on cervical cancer development, respectively.

Conclusion

Our data first shed the new light on the associations of IL1R2 polymorphisms with cervical cancer susceptibility among Uygur females. These results are supposed to facilitate the tumorigenesis genetic research among Chinese minorities.

Association of IL-6 -174G>C (rs1800795) polymorphism with cervical cancer susceptibility

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that has been implicated in the etiology of cancer. Several case–control studies have been conducted to assess the association of IL-6 -174G>C (rs1800795) polymorphism with the risk of cervical cancer, yet with conflicting conclusions. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we performed this meta-analysis updated to June 2018. A total of seven original publications were identified covering IL-6 -174G>C (rs1800795) polymorphism. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the relationship strengths. Statistically significant relationship was observed between IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism and cervical cancer risk (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.40–0.94 for GG vs. CC, and OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.64–0.93 for G vs. C). Moreover, the significant association was found among Asians (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.29–0.75 for GG vs. CC, and OR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.57–0.89 for G vs. C); hospital-based subgroup (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.38–0.72 for GG vs. CC, and OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.61–0.87 for G vs. C); and Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium ≤0.05 (OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.37–0.86 for GG vs. GC, and OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47–0.93 for G vs. C). This meta-analysis showed the evidence that the IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism was a low-penetrance susceptibility variant for cervical cancer. Further large-scale case–control studies are needed to confirm these results.

Associations of interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms with cancer risk: Evidence based on 49,408 cancer cases and 61,790 controls

Many molecular epidemiologic studies have shown that interleukin-6 (IL-6) polymorphisms are significantly associated with susceptibility for various cancers. However, the conclusions of these studies are inconsistent. The purpose of the present study was to explore the association between three common IL-6 loci (rs1800795, rs1800796, and rs1800797) and the risk for various cancers. We systematically searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Wanfang and China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI) databases for relevant publications and obtained 108 eligible studies, involving 49,408 cancer patients and 61,790 cancer-free controls. Odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI), and false positive reporting probability (FPRP) were used to evaluate cancer risk. All statistical analyses were performed using the R software meta package. We observed a non-significant association between rs1800795 and overall cancer risk, while rs1800797 was found to have a false positive association with overall risk of cancer. Subgroup analyses of rs1800797 also suggested non-significant association and rs1800795 played a protective role in liver cancer. Rs1800796 was found to be associated with overall cancer risk, particularly in Asian patients and those with prostate cancer. These findings provide evidence that IL-6 polymorphisms may affect cancer risk.

Genetic polymorphisms of IL-6 promoter in cancer susceptibility and prognosis: a meta-analysis

IL-6 is critical for tumorigenesis. However, previous studies on the association of IL-6 promoter polymorphisms with predisposition to different cancer types are somewhat contradictory. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis regarding the relationship between IL-6 promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility and prognosis. Up to April 2017, 97 original publications were identified covering three IL-6 promoter SNPs. Our results showed statistically significant association between IL-6 promoter and cancer risk and prognosis. Subgroup analysis indicated that rs1800795 was significantly associated with increased risk of cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, glioma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma but not gastric cancer and multiple myeloma. Furthermore, rs1800796 was significantly associated with increased risk of lung cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer but not gastric cancer. Additionally, rs1800797 was significantly association with breast cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma but not gastric cancer. Simultaneously, rs1800795 and rs1800796 were associated with a significantly higher risk of cancer in Asia and Caucasian, rs1800797 was associated with a significantly risk of cancer in Caucasian but not in Asia. Furthermore, IL-6 promoter polymorphisms were significantly associated with the prognosis of cancer. Considering these promising results, IL-6 promoter including rs1800795, rs1800796 and rs1800797 may be a tumor marker for cancer therapy.