135G/C polymorphism in the RAD51 gene and acute myeloid leukemia risk: a meta-analysis

Numerous studies have evaluated the association between the 135G/C polymorphism in the RAD51 gene and risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but the results have been inconsistent. The aim of this study is to precisely examine the association between the 135G/C polymorphism in the RAD51 gene and AML risk through a meta-analysis. PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies from their inception to June 2015. Pooled odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated using fixed- or random-effect models. A total of 6 case-control studies containing 1432 patients and 2750 controls were used in this meta-analysis, and our results showed no association between the 135G/C polymorphism in the RAD51 gene and AML risk (CC vs GG: OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 0.93-3.02; GC vs GG: OR = 1.24, 95%CI = 0.80-1.92; the dominant model: OR = 1.26, 95%CI = 0.83-1.91; the recessive model: OR = 1.63, 95%CI = 0.90-2.95). No publication bias was found in this study. In summary, the present meta-analysis suggests that the 135G/C polymorphism in the RAD51 gene may not be associated with AML risk. However, further studies with larger cohorts are needed to confirm this conclusion.