Interaction between interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphisms and dietary fibre in relation to risk of colorectal cancer in a Danish case-cohort study

Background: More than 50% of the colorectal cancer (CRC) etiology has been attributed to diet. Established or suspected dietary factors modifying risk of CRC are red meat, cereals, fish, and fibre. Diet and lifestyle may be linked to cancer through inflammation. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an anti-inflammatory cytokine.

We wanted to test if dietary factors and IL10 polymorphisms interact in relation to colorectal carcinogenesis. Methods: The functional IL10 polymorphism C-592A (rs1800872) and the marker rs3024505 were assessed in relation to diet and lifestyle in a nested case-cohort study of 378 CRC cases and 775 randomly selected participants from a prospective study of 57,053 persons.

Genotyping data on the IL10 polymorphism C-592A, smoking and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) was retrieved from Vogel et al. (Mutat Res, 2007; 624: 88). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) were calculated. Results: No associations were found between the IL10 rs3024505 polymorphism and risk of CRC.

There was interaction between rs3024505 and dietary fibre (P-value for interaction = 0.01). IL10 rs3024505 homozygous wildtype carriers were at 27% reduced risk of CRC per 10 g fibre per day (95% CI: 0.60-0.88) whereas variant carriers had no risk reduction by fibre intake. Also, interaction between IL10 C-592A and intake of fibre was found (P-value for interaction = 0.02).

Among those eating