A common genetic variation in CEBPE and acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a meta-analysis of the available evidence

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been studied intensively for decades, but the details of its etiology and underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated. It is now generally acknowledged that genetic factors contribute greatly to the development of this disease. The gene encoding CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ε (CEBPE) is involved in the development of leukemia, and in particular the rs2239633 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CEBPE. The association between rs2239633 and risk of ALL has been well studied, but remains unclear. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed in this study to establish a more precise estimation of that relationship. A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed electronic database was conducted, and relevant studies published up to February 20, 2015 were selected for analysis. The references of the retrieved articles were also screened. The extracted data were analyzed statistically, and pooled odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Review Manager (version 5.2) to estimate the association strength. Finally, eleven studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analyses revealed that rs2239633 was associated with an increased risk of childhood ALL in Caucasians under any contrast models (P<0.01). However, this SNP did not affect the risk of ALL in adulthood among Caucasians, or in childhood among East Asians. In conclusion, these findings confirm that the CEBPE rs2239633 SNP could be considered a good marker of pediatric ALL risk in Caucasians, but not in East Asians; it is not a good marker of adult ALL risk in Caucasians.