title: PAI-1 promoter 4G/5G polymorphism (rs1799768) contributes to tumor susceptibility: Evidence from meta-analysis.
abstract: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), belonging to the urokinase plasminogen activation (uPA) system, is involved in cancer development and progression. The PAI-1 promoter 4G/5G polymorphism was shown to contribute to genetic susceptibility to cancer, although the results were inconsistent. To assess this relationship more precisely, a meta-analysis was performed. The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched; data were extracted and analyzed independently by two reviewers. Ultimately, 21 eligible case-control studies with a total of 8,415 cancer cases and 9,208 controls were included. The overall odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) showed a statistically significant association between the PAI-1 promoter 4G/5G polymorphism and cancer risk (4G/4G vs. 5G/5G: OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.07-1.47, P(heterogeneity)=0.001; 4G/4G vs. 4G/5G+5G/5G: OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.03-1.17, P(heterogeneity)=0.194; 4G/4G+4G/5G vs. 5G/5G: OR=1.17, 95% CI=1.01-1.35, P(heterogeneity)=0.041). In further subgroup analyses, the increased risk of cancer was observed in a subgroup of Caucasians with regards to endometrial cancer. Our meta-analysis suggests that the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism most likely contributes to susceptibility to cancer, particularly in Caucasians. Furthermore, the 4G allele may be associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003,  P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yanqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Yiwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Xianglai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yeqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Zhenghui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiangyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie