Association between EGF +61 A>G polymorphism and gastric cancer risk: A meta-analysis

Previous studies suggested an association between the EGF +61 A>G polymorphism and susceptibility to gastric cancer, but the results have been inconsistent. To draw a more precise risk estimation of the association, we performed a meta-analysis of published studies. PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar and the Chinese Wanfang databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. There were 7 studies involving 1992 cases of gastric cancer and 3202 controls in this meta-analysis. Our study showed that, overall, the EGF +61 A>G polymorphism was significantly associated with the increased risk of gastric cancer in allele model (G vs. A: OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.00-1.39), dominant model (GG + GA vs. AA: OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.05-1.55), homozygous model (GG vs. AA: OR=1.31, 95% CI=1.06-1.63) and heterozygous model (GA vs. AA: OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.01-1.53). The stratified analysis by ethnicity revealed a significant association between EGF +61 A>G polymorphism and gastric cancer risks in Asians. This meta-analysis indicates that EGF +61 A>G polymorphism may increase the risk of gastric cancer, especially in Asians. Large-sized, well-designed studies involving different ethnic groups should be conducted to confirm this association.