Many epidemiological studies have shown the association between certain genetic variations in the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene (for example, rs4986790 and rs4986791) and cancer risk.
The results showed that all of these three polymorphisms were significantly associated with the increased cancer risk (dominant model: OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.04-2.60 for TLR2 -196 to -174 del; OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01-1.41 for TLR4 rs4986790; and OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.120-1.80 for TLR4 rs4986791; respectively).
Moreover, in terms of stratified analyses by cancer type for SNP rs4986790, significantly elevated risk was observed to be associated with G allele in gastric cancer and 'other cancers'.
Recently, a number of case-control studies were conducted to investigate the association between TLR4 gene polymorphism and cancer risk, especially Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms.
Human colon adenocarcinomas from patients with TLR4-D299G were more frequently of an advanced stage (International Union Against Cancer [UICC] ≥III, 70% vs 46%; P = .0142) with metastasis (UICC IV, 42% vs 19%; P = .0065) than those with wild-type TLR4.
In a prospective cohort study, we examined 62 patients undergoing major surgical cancer therapy for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) gene polymorphisms (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) and their influence on cytokine levels pre- and postoperatively, as well as cytokine levels after whole blood lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation.