p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and risk of basal cell carcinoma: a meta analysis.

PURPOSE We attempted to comprehensively assess the possible association between p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and the risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC). METHODS We performed a literature search of case-control association studies on p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and BCC susceptibility in PubMed and EMBASE. 7 eligible studies were finally identified and their data were extracted for this meta-analysis. BCC risk was determined with the fixed effects model using a pooled odds ratio (OR). RESULTS Using distinct genetic models, we found that p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism was not associated with the overall risk of BCC. We observed a similar trend towards the association when performing subgroup analysis for Caucasians and Asians. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that presence of the common p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism may not play a role in the development of BCC. Larger studies are needed to better confirm the association.