Association of a tgf-b1-509c/t polymorphism with gastric cancer risk: a meta-analysis

Published data on the association between the transforming growth factor B1 (TGF-B1) gene 509C/T polymorphism and gastric cancer risk are inconclusive. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, a meta-analysis of the TGFB1-509C/T polymorphism (with 2130 cases and 2374 controls) from seven published case-control studies was performed. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association in the codominant model, the dominant model, and the recessive model. In the overall analysis, the T allele was significantly associated with susceptibility to gastric cancer in the recessive model (TT vs. CC+CT) (TT vs. CC+CT: OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.10-1.66, P = 0.10 for heterogeneity) when all the included studies were pooled into the meta-analysis. In the stratified analysis by country, the T allele was also found to be significantly associated with increased gastric cancer risk in the recessive model (TT vs. CC+CT) in Chinese studies and in T versus C in the Indian study. In conclusion, this meta-analysis supports the TGFB1-509T polymorphism as a susceptibility factor for gastric cancer.