TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism is associated with esophageal cancer risk: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the association between TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and esophageal cancer (EC) risk using meta-analysis.

Methods: All eligible studies published before March 1, 2010 were selected by searching PubMed using keywords "p53" or "TP53", "polymorphism" or "variation", "esophageal" and "cancer" or "carcinoma". Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed for EC risk associated with TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism using fixed- and random-effects models.

Results: Nine case-control studies involving 5545 subjects were included in this meta-analysis. Significantly reduced risk of EC was associated with TP53 genotypes for Arg/Arg + Arg/Pro vs Pro/Pro (OR = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57-0.94, P = 0.014). Subgroup analyses according to the source of controls and the specimens used for determining TP53 Arg72Pro genotypes or sample size showed that significantly reduced risk was observed only in studies which have population-based controls (Arg/Arg vs Pro/Pro: OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.47-0.66, P < 0.001), and use white blood cells or normal tissue to assess TP53 genotypes of cases (Arg/Arg vs Pro/Pro: OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.47-0.65, P < 0.001) or include at least 200 subjects (Arg/Arg vs Pro/Pro: OR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.47-0.65, P < 0.001). Analysis restricted to well-designed studies also supported the significantly decreased risk of EC (Arg/Arg vs Pro/Pro: OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.46-0.64, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: TP53 Arg72 carriers are significantly associated with decreased EC risk. Nevertheless, more well-designed studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Keywords: Codon 72; Esophageal cancer; Meta-analysis; Polymorphism; TP53.

Figure 1

Forest plots for the relationship between TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and esophageal cancer risk in studies with population-based controls with at least 200 participants, using white blood cells or normal tissues to determine TP53 genotypes. A: Homozygote comparison; B: Dominant model; C: Recessive model. The first authors’ surname and year of publication are given in the left part of the figure. The size of the black square corresponding to each study is proportional to the sample size. The centre of each square represents the odds ratio (OR) and the horizontal line shows the corresponding 95% CI. The pooled OR was obtained using fixed-effects model and is represented by hollow diamond, where its centre indicates the OR and its ends correspond to the 95% CI. Arg: Arginine; Pro: Proline.