P53 codon 72 polymorphism and recurrent pregnancy loss: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Arg72Pro polymorphism of the p53 tumour suppressor gene have been associated with recurrent pregnancy loss. However, results were inconsistent. We performed this metaanalysis to drive amore precise estimation of association between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and recurrent pregnancy loss. Electronic searche of PubMed was conducted to select studies. Case-control studies containing available genotype frequencies of Arg72Pro were chose, and Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of this association. 4 case-control studies including 523 cases and 378controls were identified. This meta-analysis showed that individuals with the homozygous Pro/Pro genotype had increased risk of recurrent pregnancy loss (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.078 ~ 3.173, p = 0.025) in the pooled analyses. An symmetric funnel plot, the Egger's test (P = 0.497), and the Begg- test (P = 0.85) were all suggestive of the lack of publication bias. This meta-analysis supports the idea that p53 condon72 Pro/Pro genotype is associated with increased risk of recurrent pregnancy loss. To draw comprehensive and true conclusions, further prospective studies with larger numbers of participants worldwide are needed to examine associations between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and recurrent pregnancy loss.