Quantitative assessment of common genetic variants on chromosome 5p15 and lung cancer risk

Several genome-wide association studies on lung cancer (LC) have reported similar findings of a new susceptibility locus, 5p15. After that, a number of studies reported that the rs2736100, rs401681, rs402710, and rs31489 polymorphisms at chromosome 5p15 have been implicated in LC risk. However, the studies have yielded contradictory results. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we performed this meta-analysis. Databases including MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched to find relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. The random effect model was applied, addressing heterogeneity and publication bias. A total of 31 articles involving 72,401 cases and 141,258 controls were included. Overall, significantly elevated LC risk was associated with rs2736100, rs401681, rs402710, and rs31489 polymorphisms when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, sample size, histology, sex, and smoking behavior, significantly increased risks were also detected for these polymorphisms. Our findings demonstrated that these common variations at 5p15 are a risk factor associated with increased LC susceptibility. However, these associations vary between different ethnicity.