Interaction with other gene polymorphisms should be explored as it is likely that variants of cytokine genes that are important in RA and that trigger ECM protease gene expression, especially tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-1 but also interleukin-6, epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta, potentiate the effect of the SNPs studied here. Here, IL6 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.