title: The FAS ligand promoter polymorphism, rs763110 (-844C>T), contributes to cancer susceptibility: evidence from 19 case-control studies.
abstract: The potentially functional polymorphism, rs763110 (-844C>T), in the promoter region of the FAS ligand (FASL) gene, has been implicated in cancer risk, but individually published studies show inconclusive results. To derive a more precise estimation of the association between the FASL rs763110 and risk of cancer, we performed a meta-analysis of 19 published studies that included 11,105 cancer cases and 11,372 controls. We used odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the associations. Overall, the rs763110 CT and TT variant genotypes were associated with a significantly reduced cancer risk of all cancer types in different genetic models (homozygote comparison: OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.68-0.95, P(heterogeneity)=0.001; heterozygote comparison: OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.72-0.95, P(heterogeneity)<0.001; dominant model comparison: OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.71-0.94, P(heterogeneity)<0.001; and recessive model comparison: OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.96, P(heterogeneity)=0.074). In the stratified analyses, the risk remained for studies of the smoking-related cancers and Asian populations, or population-based studies in all the genetic models. Although some modest bias could not be eliminated, this meta-analysis suggests that the FASL rs763110 T allele has a possible protective effect on cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Genetic Toxicology, Cancer Center of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Meilin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhengdong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang