Association between TCF7L2 Gene Polymorphism and Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE The transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene has been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. However, the results have been inconsistent. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to clarify the associations between TCF7L2 polymorphism and cancer risk. METHODS Published literature from PubMed and EMBASE were retrieved. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) were calculated using fixed- or random-effects model. RESULTS A total of 19 studies (14,814 cases and 33,856 controls) were identified for the analysis of the association between TCF7L2 polymorphism and cancer risk. The results showed that TCF7L2 polymorphism was associated with breast cancer (Homogeneous model: OR=1.17, 95%CI=1.02-1.35, I (2) =21.8%, p for heterogeneity=0.276; Heterogeneous model: OR=1.11, 95%CI=1.03-1.20, I (2) =0.0%, p for heterogeneity=0.543), prostate cancer (Homogeneous model: OR=0.89, 95%CI=0.84-0.96, I (2) =0.0%, p for heterogeneity=0.640; Heterogeneous model: OR=0.89, 95%CI=0.84-0.95, I (2) =0.0%, p for heterogeneity=0.871), and colon cancer (Heterogeneous model: OR=1.15, 95%CI=1.01-1.31, I (2) =0.0%, p for heterogeneity=0.658), but not with colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS The present meta-analysis indicated that there were significantly associations between the TCF7L2 rs7903146 polymorphism and risk of breast, prostate and colon cancers, rather than colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer.