The polymorphism IL-1 beta T-31C is associated with a longer overall survival in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing auto-SCT

Proinflammatory cytokines are suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM). Therefore, it is possible that inborn genetic variations leading to a modified expression of these cytokines will influence the outcome for these patients. We investigated 348 MM patients undergoing high-dose melphalan treatment followed by Auto-SCT and examined the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in the inflammatory response. We found that the polymorphism IL-1 beta T-31C significantly influenced overall survival (OS; P = 0.02) and that carriers of the variant C-allele had a significantly longer survival than homozygous wild-type allele TT-carriers (relative risk 0.6 (95% CI = 0.5-0.9); P = 0.008). The polymorphisms IL-6 G-174C, IL-10 C592A, PPAR gamma 2 Pro(12)Ala, COX-2 A- 1195G, COX-2 T8473C and NFKB1 ins/del did not influence the OS in this group of patients. Furthermore, homozygous carriers of the variant allele of IL-1 beta T-31C were at 1.37-fold (CI = 1.05-1.80) increased risk of MM as compared with population-based controls (P = 0.02). Our results indicate that IL-1b is involved in the pathogenesis of MM.