Novel interleukin 1β polymorphism increased the risk of gastric cancer in a Korean population

Polymorphisms in the gene for interleukin 1β (IL-1B) have been found to increase the risks of gastric cancer and its precursors in response to Helicobacter pylori infection in white populations. However, there has been no independent confirmation of the role of IL-1B markers in gastric cancer patients from Asian populations. Moreover, there have been conflicting data regarding the effect of IL-1B-511/-31 on the risk of gastric cancer or its precursors in Asian populations. Therefore, we assessed an additional polymorphism in the promoter region of IL-1B at position-1473 with the IL-1B-511/-31 polymorphisms in a Korean population.