Association between interleukin 6 polymorphisms (rs1800796, rs1800795, rs2069837, rs17147230, and rs1800797) and hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility: a meta-analysis

Introduction
We reported the association between interleukin 6 polymorphisms (rs1800796, rs1800795, rs2069837, rs17147230, and rs1800797) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility in a meta-analysis.

Material and methods
The studies were retrieved by searching the search terms in Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases until June 2020. The analyses were done by RevMan 5.3 software using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and the analysis of publication bias and sensitivity analyses were performed by CMA 2.0 software.

Results
Searching through the databases, 316 records were retrieved and finally 13 studies were analyzed in the present meta-analysis. For the rs1800797 polymorphism, there was an elevated risk of AA genotype (OR = 2.68, p = 0.03) in HCC patients compared to healthy controls. Also, there was an elevated risk of AA (OR = 3.06, p = 0.04) and GA (OR = 2.61, p = 0.005) genotypes in HCC patients compared to liver cirrhosis patients. For rs2069837 polymorphism, there was an elevated risk of GG genotype (OR = 2.25, p = 0.01) in HCC patients compared to healthy controls. For rs17147230, T allele (OR = 1.31, p = 0.03) and TT genotype (OR = 1.83, p = 0.02) had elevated risks in HCC patients compared to healthy controls.

Conclusions
The present meta-analysis confirmed that there was an elevated risk of the AA and GA genotypes of rs1800797 polymorphism and the GG genotype of rs2069837, and the T allele and TT genotype of rs17147230 in HCC.