Submit

Login Login

Register Register

Home / Journals / OR / Online First / doi:10.32604/or.2026.080527
Journal Menu
Special Issues
Table of Content

All issues

Online First

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Past Issues

Open Access

ARTICLE

Impact of IL31RA Genetic Variants and Expression on Metastatic Progression in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Hsueh-Ju Lu1,2,*, Chiao-Wen Lin3,4, Chun-Yi Chuang2,5, Chun-Wen Su6,7, Shun-Fa Yang6,7,*
1 Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
2 School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
3 Institute of Oral Sciences, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
4 Department of Dentistry, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
5 Department of Otolaryngology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
6 Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
7 Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
* Corresponding Author: Hsueh-Ju Lu. Email: email; Shun-Fa Yang. Email: email

Oncology Research https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2026.080527

Received 13 February 2026; Accepted 22 June 2026; Published online 06 July 2026

Abstract

Background: Interleukin-31 receptor alpha (IL31RA) has been implicated in cancer progression and tumor cell migration, but its genetic associations across cancers remain unclear. This study aimed to examine IL31RA polymorphisms in relation to lymph node involvement in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC). Methods: In this case-control study, 2845 participants were enrolled, including 1352 patients with OCSCC and 1493 cancer-free controls. Associations between IL31RA SNPs and OCSCC susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated. Functional analyses, including cell migration assays, together with bioinformatic database analyses, were performed to investigate the biological significance of IL31RA and genotype–expression correlations. Logistic regression and other appropriate statistical methods were used to assess these associations. Results: IL31RA polymorphisms did not significantly influence OCSCC development. However, subsite-specific analysis revealed that gingival cancer patients with minor alleles at rs6876491 and rs10055201 had significantly higher lymph node involvement rates than wild-type carriers. IL31RA rs6876491 was also an independent predictor of lymph node involvement in gingival cancer after adjusting for clinical characteristics, with adjusted odds ratios of 2.172 (95% Confidence Interval: 1.095–4.310). Bioinformatic databases also showed that minor genotypes correlated with increased IL31RA expression. Patients with higher IL31RA expression tended to have poorer survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) based on TCGA public database analyses (p = 0.053). Moreover, functional studies confirmed that IL31RA overexpression enhanced cellular migration (p < 0.05), while knockdown suppressed migratory capacity (p < 0.05). Conclusions: IL31RA polymorphisms may be associated with an increased propensity for lymph node involvement, particularly in gingival cancer, suggesting that IL31RA may have potential clinical relevance in OCSCC progression.

Keywords

Interleukin-31 receptor alpha (IL31RA); single-nucleotide polymorphism; oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma; migration; lymph node involvement

  • 96

    View

  • 19

    Download

  • 0

    Like

Related articles
Copyright© 2026 Tech Science Press
© 1997-2026 TSP (Henderson, USA) unless otherwise stated

Share Link