Interleukin-10 [ATA] promoter haplotype and prostate cancer risk: A population-based study

Abstract Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a multifunctional cytokine acting as inhibitor of inflammatory and immune responses as well as tumour induced angiogenesis. A common [ATA] haplotype formed by polymorphisms at positions −1082, −819 and −592 in the promoter of the IL-10 gene is a strong determinant for IL-10 expression. The presence of this haplotype can be determined by analysis of the −592C > A polymorphism. To analyse the role of the IL-10 [ATA] haplotype in prostate cancer we performed a case-control study including 561 prostate cancer patients and 561 male, age-matched, control subjects without malignant disease. The IL-10 −592C > A polymorphism was determined by a 5′-nuclease assay (TaqMan). IL-10 −592 CC, CA and AA genotype frequencies were not significantly different between patients (53.6%, 40.0%, 6.4%) and controls (54.3%, 39.6%, 6.1%; p  = 0.96). IL-10 genotypes were furthermore not associated with tumour characteristics such as histological grade, T stage, PSA levels at diagnosis, or age at diagnosis. Therefore we conclude that the IL-10 −592C > A promoter polymorphism, tagging the IL-10 low-producer [ATA] haplotype, is not associated with risk for prostate cancer.