The MDM2 309 T/G Polymorphism is Associated with Head and Neck Cancer Risk Especially in Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Published data on the association between mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) 309 T/G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and head and neck cancer (HNC) risk are inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we performed a meta-analysis. Material and Methods: A systematic computerized search of PubMed was performed. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association between the polymorphism and HNC risk. The pooled ORs were performed for TT versus GG, TG versus GG, dominant model (TT+TG vs. GG) and recessive model (TT vs. TG+GG), respectively. Results: A total of 9 studies including 2,755 cases and 4,121 controls were involved in the final meta-analysis. The results of the overall meta-analysis provided some evidence of an association between the polymorphism and HNC risk (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.67–0.99 for TG vs. GG). In the subgroup meta-analysis based on the types of tumor, we detected a significantly decreased NPC risk for all genetic models. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that the GG genotype of MDM2 SNP309 is associated with HNC risk. The MDM2 SNP309G allele is a highly penetrant risk factor for developing NPC.