New evidence of TERT rs2736098 polymorphism and cancer risk: an updated meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE
Previous meta-analyses didn't suggest any significant association between TERT rs2736098 polymorphism and overall cancer risk, and the existing evidence lacks statistical power to draw a convincing conclusion.


METHODS
Herein we performed an update meta-analysis to re-evaluate the association between rs2736098 polymorphism and the risk of overall cancer with all the case-control studies published before March 2015 according to PubMed and Embase databases.


RESULTS
A total of 19 case-control studies were included in this analysis. We found that variant genotypes of rs2736098 (GA/AA) were significantly associated with an increased risk of overall cancer (GA/AA vs GG: OR=1.14; 95% CI=1.04-1.25). Additionally, the association was more significant in Asians (OR=1.20; 95% CI=1.07-1.34), while in subsequent analyses stratified by cancer type, the variant rs2736098 was definitely associated with increased lung cancer (OR=1.18; 95% CI=1.07-1.29) and hepatocellular carcinoma risk (OR=1.38; 95% CI=1.20-1.59).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings provided further evidence that TERT rs2736098 variant may modify the susceptibility to cancer.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nantong, University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
Tong
T
Li
Yun
Y
Xian
Tian
T
Tian
Xun
X
Zhuang
Minjie
M
Chu
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics*
C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase