Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND:
Several
recent studies have identified that the TERT genetic polymorphism
rs2853676 is associated with cancer risk, but presented inconsistent
results. We investigated these inconclusive results by performing a
meta-analysis to systematically evaluate the association.
METHODS:
We
conducted a search in PubMed, Google Scholar and ISI Web of Science to
select studies on the association between TERT rs2853676 and cancer
risk. We conducted a stratified analysis using cancer type, ethnicity
and source of controls. We calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95%
confidence intervals (CI). Article quality, heterogeneity, sensitivity,
publication bias and statistical power were also assessed.
RESULTS:
26
articles covering 76 108 cases and 134 215 controls met our inclusion
criteria. A significant association between TERT rs2853676 allele A and
cancer susceptibility was demonstrated under a per-allele risk analysis
(OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04-1.13). Stratification analysis revealed an
increased cancer risk in subgroups of glioma, lung cancer and ovarian
cancer. No significant increase was found in melanoma, breast cancer,
pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. In a subgroup analysis of lung
cancer, a statistically significant increase was only observed in
adenocarcinoma. Moreover, a stratified analysis performed for ethnic
groups revealed that the significant increase was only observed in
Caucasians, whereas a non-significant increase was found in Asians.
CONCLUSIONS:
This
meta-analysis suggests that the TERT genetic polymorphism rs2853676 is
associated with increased risk of glioma, lung adenocarcinoma and
ovarian cancer among Caucasians. Further functional studies are
warranted to validate this association and investigate further.
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