Lack of association of some chemokine system polymorphisms with the risks of death and hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in genes encoding for the chemokines stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXCL12, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1)/CCL2, or for the chemokine receptors, CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) or CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) have been associated with the progression of hepatitis C virus-related liver injury and with various cancer development. Their influence on the prognosis of alcoholic liver disease is unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: SDF-1 3'A, MCP-1(-2518), CCR5-Delta32 and CCR2-64I polymorphisms, SDF-1alpha, regulated upon activation normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES)/CCL5 and MCP-1 sera levels were determined in 222 alcoholic patients, included at the time of cirrhosis diagnosis and prospectively followed up.
RESULTS: Carriers and noncarriers of each genetic marker had similar baseline characteristics estimating the severity of liver disease. Mean time of follow-up of the cohort was 62.9+/-43.2 months. One hundred and forty-seven out of 222 (66.3%) patients were alive at the end of the study. The occurrence of death (75/222; 33.7%) or hepatocellular carcinoma (67/222; 30.1%) during follow-up was similar among carriers and noncarriers of each polymorphism. No association between the carriage of mutated alleles and chemokine sera levels was found: CCR5-Delta32/RANTES, SDF-1 3'A/SDF-1alpha and CCR2-64I or MCP-1(-2518)/MCP-1. Baseline RANTES, SDF-1alpha and MCP-1 sera levels were associated neither with the risk of death nor with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests the lack of association of SDF-1 3'A, MCP-1(-2518), CCR5-Delta32 and CCR2-64I polymorphisms with death and hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence in cirrhotic alcoholic patients.