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Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Jun 13;8(24):38693-38705.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.16309.

The TERT rs2736100 polymorphism increases cancer risk: A meta-analysis

Hui Li  1 , Yanyan Xu  2 , Hua Mei  3 , Liang Peng  4 , Xiaojie Li  5 , Jianzhou Tang  4   5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The TERT rs2736100 polymorphism increases cancer risk: A meta-analysis

Hui Li et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

Abnormal telomerase activity is implicated in cancer initiation and development. The rs2736100 T > G polymorphism in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, which encodes the telomerase catalytic subunit, has been associated with increased cancer risk. We conducted a meta-analysis to more precisely assess this association. After a comprehensive literature search of the PubMed and EMBASE databases up to November 1, 2016, 61 articles with 72 studies comprising 108,248 cases and 161,472 controls were included in our meta-analysis. Studies were conducted on various cancer types. The TERT rs2736100 polymorphism was associated with increased overall cancer risk in five genetic models [homozygous model (GG vs. TT): odds ratio (OR) = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.26-1.54, P < 0.001; heterozygous model (TG vs. TT): OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.11-1.23, P < 0.001; dominant model (TG + GG vs. TT): OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.15-1.31, P < 0.001; recessive model (GG vs. TG + TT): OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.16-1.35, P < 0.001; and allele contrast model (G vs. T): OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.12-1.23, P < 0.001]. A stratified analysis based on cancer type associated the polymorphism with elevated risk of thyroid cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, glioma, myeloproliferative neoplasms, and acute myeloid leukemia. Our results confirm that the TERT rs2736100 polymorphism confers increased overall cancer risk.

Keywords: TERT; cancer; meta-analysis; risk; telomerase.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of articles included in our meta-analysis
Figure 2
Figure 2. Forest plot of the association between the TERT rs2736100 polymorphism and overall cancer susceptibility in the allele contrast model
Figure 3
Figure 3. Funnel plot analysis to evaluate publication bias
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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