Correlation between PLCE1 rs2274223 variant and digestive tract cancer: A meta-analysis

The relationship between phospholipase C ε-1 (PLCE1) rs2274223 variant and digestive tract cancer remains inconclusive despite extensive investigations. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to obtain a more credible conclusion.

PubMed, Medline, and Embase were systematic searched. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

A total of 27 studies were finally included. Pooled analyses suggested that PLCE1 rs2274223 variant was significantly correlated with the likelihood of esophageal cancer (dominant model: p < 0.001, OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.72-0.83; recessive model: p < 0.001, OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.12-1.45; additive model: p < 0.001, OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.11-1.29; allele model: p < 0.001, OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.74-0.88) and gastric cancer (recessive model: p = 0.001, OR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47; allele model: p = 0.03, OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78-0.98) in overall population. Further subgroup analyses showed that the positive results were mainly driven by the East Asians. However, no positive results were detected in Caucasians and West Asians.

Our findings indicated that the PLCE1 rs2274223 variant might serve as a promising genetic biomarker of esophageal and gastric cancer in East Asians.