Interferon-γ polymorphisms correlate with duration of survival in pancreatic cancer

Halma, M.A.T.; Wheelhouse, N.M.; Barber, M.D.; Powell, J.J.; Fearon, K.C.H.; Ross, J.A.

Abstract

Despite progress in diagnosis and staging, pancreatic cancer still has a poor prognosis and it remains difficult to predict duration of survival in advanced pancreatic cancer. Nutritional decline, or cachexia, is a contributory factor to decreased survival in advanced pancreatic carcinoma, and it has been demonstrated that proinflammatory cytokines give rise to cachexia. Interferon (IFN)-γ is a proinflammatory cytokine whose administration increases survival outcomes in a variety of cancers. The human IFN-γ gene has a variable length CA-repeat sequence, the length that has been shown to influence IFN-γ production. The current study was performed to ascertain whether polymorphisms of the IFN-γ gene would influence survival of individuals with advanced pancreatic cancer. The study demonstrated that the presence of allele 2 (12 {CA} repeats) was consistently associated with increased duration of survival after confirmation of nonresectable pancreatic carcinoma. We therefore propose that the presence of allele 2 may be a useful marker for patient outcome.

Citation

Halma, M., Wheelhouse, N., Barber, M., Powell, J., Fearon, K., & Ross, J. (2004). Interferon-γ polymorphisms correlate with duration of survival in pancreatic cancer. Human Immunology, 65(11), 1405-1408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humimm.2004.08.184

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 26, 2004
• Online Publication Date: Nov 17, 2004
• Publication Date: 2004-11
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2016
• Journal: Human Immunology
• Print ISSN: 0198-8859
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 1405-1408
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humimm.2004.08.184
• Keywords: Pancreatic cancer, interferon-γ, genetic polymorphisms, prognostic factors,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/318201
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019888590400607X