Association between the TNF-α-238G>A and TGF-β1 L10P Polymorphisms and Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

SUMMARY: BACKGROUND: The tumor necrosis factors alpha and beta (TNF-α, TNF-β) can regulate a wide range of cellular responses and facilitate tumor growth and progression. However, the effects of the polymorphisms TNF-α-238G>A and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 L10P on breast cancer risk are still unclear or inconclusive. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to provide a full estimation of the association with breast cancer, a meta-analysis of the most valid literature was performed by searching the databases PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, CNKI, and Google Scholar. RESULTS: For TNF-α-238G>A, 3 studies including 35,578 cases and 38,095 controls were selected. For TGF-β1 L10P, 11 studies including 7,903 cases and 8,797 controls were selected. For TNF-α-238G>A, a significant association with breast cancer risk was found in the recessive model (odds ratio = 0.954, 95% confidence interval 0.912-0.998), but other models did not reach significance. For TGF-β1 L10P, no significant correlations were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that TNF-α-238G>A may be associated with breast cancer incidence, although significance is weak. Its role as an indicator for cancer diagnosis should be studied more. Moreover, for TGF-β1 L10P, further comprehensive meta-analyses are necessary.