EXPRESSION OF SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN CERVICAL CANCER AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IL-6 GENE POLYMORPHISMS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISEASE

Abstract

The development of cervical cancer (CC) is associated with chronic inflammation caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, but only a minority of women infected with HR HPV develop intraepithelial changes or cervical cancer. Chronic inflammation caused by HPV is a primary and necessary step in the six-step process of carcinogenesis. In CC, a chronic inflammatory response is also thought to be associated with worse disease outcomes. Aim. To determine the expression of systemic inflammation in patients with cervical cancer depending on the risk factors and stage of the disease and the significance of IL-6 gene polymorphisms in the development of the disease. Objectives. To determine and evaluate the characteristics of the expression of systemic inflammation in the control group and patients with CC depending on smoking status, to evaluate the expression of systemic inflammation in patients with CC depending on the stage of the disease, to determine the prognostic cut-off values of the systemic inflammation markers, namely TNF-α, interferon beta (IFN-β), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, neutrophil gelatinase-related lipocalin (LPC2), and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM-1), to predict CC and stage of the disease and to determine the frequencies of IL-6 gene polymorphisms (rs1800795) in the study groups and to evaluate the impact of these polymorphisms on the development of CC. Conclusions. During the study, we did not determine any impact of smoking on the levels of the studied inflammatory markers either in women with cervical cancer or in healthy women. The expression of IL-1β, IL-6, LPC2 ir TREM-1 in CC were different depending on the stage. We determined the prognostic cut-off values of LPC2, IL-6, TREM and evaluated the risk of developing CC. We found that the C allele and the CC genotype of the IL-6 rs1800795 gene polymorphism significantly increased the risk of CC.