Abstract
BackgroundThe association between epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene +61A/G polymorphism (rs4444903) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility has been widely reported, but the results were inconsistent. To clarify the effect of this polymorphism on HCC risk, a meta-analysis was performed.MethodsThe PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese BioMedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies published up to December 2013. Data were extracted independently by two authors. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of association.ResultsA total of 16 studies including 2475 HCC cases and 5381 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, a significantly increased HCC risk was observed under all genetic models (G vs. A: OR = 1.383, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 1.174-1.629; GG vs. GA + AA: OR = 1.484, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 1.198-1.838; GG + GA vs. AA: OR = 1.530, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 1.217-1.924; GG vs. AA: OR = 1.958, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 1.433-2.675; GA vs. AA: OR = 1.215, P = 0.013, 95% CI: 1.041-1.418). In the subgroup analyses by ethnicity, a significant association with HCC risk was found in Asian populations (G vs. A: OR = 1.151, P = 0.001, 95% CI: 1.056-1.255), European populations (G vs. A: OR = 1.594, P = 0.027, 95% CI: 1.053-2.413, and African populations (G vs. A: OR = 3.599, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 2.550-5.080), respectively.ConclusionsOur study shows that EGF +61A/G polymorphism is significantly associated with the increased HCC risk, especially in Asian populations. Further large-scale and well-designed studies are required to confirm this conclusion.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1318-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The association between epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene +61A/G polymorphism and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility has been widely reported, but the results were inconsistent
In the subgroup analyses by ethnicity, a significant association with HCC risk was found in Asian populations (G vs. A: odds ratio (OR) = 1.151, P = 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.056-1.255), European populations (G vs. A: OR = 1.594, P = 0.027, 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs): 1.053-2.413, and African populations (G vs. A: OR = 3.599, P < 0.001, 95% CI: 2.550-5.080), respectively
Our study shows that EGF +61A/G polymorphism is significantly associated with the increased HCC risk, especially in Asian populations
Summary
The association between epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene +61A/G polymorphism (rs4444903) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility has been widely reported, but the results were inconsistent. To clarify the effect of this polymorphism on HCC risk, a meta-analysis was performed. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancerrelated death worldwide [1]. Despite advances in the diagnosis and treatment of HCC, it still has poor prognosis with a five-year survival rate of 5% in developing countries [4]. Major risk factors for development of HCC are chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), liver cirrhosis, habitual alcohol abuse, high cigarette smoking, and exposure to aflatoxin B1 [3,5]. Not all individuals with exposure to the risk factors develop
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