Aim: We conducted a case-control matched study to investigate the role of IL-16 gene polymorphisms,rs4072111, rs1131445, rs4778889 and rs11556218, in the risk of gastric cancer in a Chinese population, alsoperforming subgroup analysis by subsites. Methods: To test the hypothesis of involvement, we analyzed the fourSNPs of IL16 in 347 cancer patients and 368 controls. Demographic data and other information were collectedusing a newly designed questionnaire. Genotyping of IL16 (rs4072111, rs1131445, rs4778889 and rs11556218)was performed in a 384-well plate format on the MassARRAY® platform. Results: In our study, we found thegastric cancer patients were more likely to be male and have a family history of cancer (P < 0.05). We foundthe rs4778889 CC and rs11556218 GG genotype was significantly associated with 1.97 and 1.84-fold increasedrisk of non-cardia gastric cancer, while we did not find significant association between the four IL-16 SNPs andcardia gastric cancer. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study indicated that IL-16 rs4778889 CC and rs11556218GG genotypes are associated with an increased risk of non-cardia gastric cancer in a Chinese population. Ourresults offer insights into the influence of IL-16 on development of gastric cancer.
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