Correlation of BARD1 gene polymorphisms with risk of neuroblastoma: a meta-analysis

BRCA1-associated RING domain protein 1 (BARD1) gene polymorphisms may be associated with neuroblastoma (NB) susceptibility. However, the results remain controversial. Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases up to March 5, 2023. The strength of the association between BARD1 polymorphisms and susceptibility of NB was assessed by calculating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) through the fixed- or random-effects model. Eight articles involving 12 studies were finally included. We found that rs6435862 T > G, rs3768716 A > G, rs17487792 C > T and rs7587476 C > T variant increase the risk of NB in allelic, dominant, recessive, homozygous and heterozygous genetic models, while rs7585356 G > A variant appeared protective against NB. When stratified by ethnicity, subgroup analysis indicated that the above association remained significant in Caucasian populations in all genetic models, except for rs7585356G > A polymorphism in Asians. In Asian populations, we found the similar results in the allelic and dominant model of rs6435862 T > G, rs3768716 A > G, rs17487792 C > T and rs7587476 C > T as in Caucasians, while there lacked a significant association in the other three model. In addition, rs7585356 G > A was not associated with an increased risk of NB in the Asian population. After Bonferroni correction, significant associations for rs7585356 G > A disappeared in both Asian and Caucasian populations, with no significant association found for rs7587476 in the allelic and dominant models among Asians. BARD1 polymorphisms might be significantly associated with NB susceptibility. It is crucial that these finding should be further confirmed through extensive and well-planned studies.