Interleukin-23 Receptor Gene Variants in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Their Relation to Prognostic Factors

Interleukin (IL)-23 has an important role in tumor immune regulation. The aim of the present study is to investigate the possible association of interleukin-23 receptor (IL23R) gene variants rs1884444, rs10889677and rs11209026 with development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
The IL23R variants were studied in 164 ALL patients and compared to 175 healthy controls by polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism. The relationship between these variants and clinical and laboratory features of the patients and response to therapy were evaluated.
No significant differencesin genotype and allelefrequenciesexisted between patients and controls. The rs1884444TG genotype was significantly lower in patients who relapsed (24.2%) compared to those without relapse (55.9%, p=0.006).Fewer patients who relapsed had evidence of the G allele (P=0.034). The TG genotype was associated with a longer complete remission at 1804±116 days compared to other genotypes (100×103 μL (68.4% and 52.4%, respectively).
Our findings showed a lack of association of the studied polymorphisms with the risk of ALL. The influence of the rs1884444 polymorphism on relapse rate and association of rs10889677 AA genotype with favorable prognostic factors suggest the influence of the studied polymorphisms on ALL response to therapy and prognosis.