CXCR2 +1208 CT genotype may predict earlier clinical stage at diagnosis in patients with prostate cancer

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is an angiogenic CXC chemokine that plays an important role in both the development and progression of several human malignancies including prostate cancer (PC). A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at −251 upstream of the transcriptional start site of the IL-8 gene has been shown to influence its production. The effects of IL-8 are mediated by two highly related chemokine receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2. The present study investigated the influence of the IL-8 and CXCR2 gene variation on susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics of PC in a group of Brazilian subjects. Methods: Two hundred and one patients and 185 healthy controls were enrolled in a case-control study. Blood was collected for DNA extraction; typing of IL-8 −251 T/A and CXCR2 +1208 C/T genes was performed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP), followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Risk association between the genotypes, PC susceptibility and tumor characteristics was estimated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for age at diagnosis. Results: A significant association was found between the heterozygous CXCR2 +1208 CT genotype and stage of PC. The CXCR2 +1208 CT genotype was significantly less frequent in patients with clinical stage T3-T4 compared to T1-T2 (56.7 versus 80.5%). Our findings suggest that carriers of the CXCR2 +1208 CT genotype had a protective effect for advanced PC (CT versus CC: adjusted OR = 0.25; P = 0.02). No association was observed between the SNP for IL-8 −251 T/A and clinicopathological parameters of PC. Conclusion: These results indicated that the CXCR2 +1208 CT genotype is less frequent in advanced stages of PC, suggesting that this chemokine receptor plays a role in the pathogenesis of this disease.