An updated meta-analysis of 23 case-control studies on the association between miR-34b/c polymorphism and cancer risk

The association between in microRNA-34b/c gene rs4938723 polymorphisms and cancer risk remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis was performed to analyze the association between microRNA-34b/c rs4938723 polymorphism and risk for cancer development. In total, 304 studies from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were examined, and 23 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The 23 selected studies involved 10,812 cancer cases and 11,719 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to measure the strength of the association. Our results indicate a significant association between the rs4938723 polymorphism and cancer risk in the overdominant model (P heterogeneity = 0.018, OR = 1.093, and 95% CI = 1.015–1.177 for CT vs. CC/TT). Using a stratified subgroup analysis, rs4938723 polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, but decreased risk for colorectal, gastric, and esophageal squamous cell cancer. These findings indicate that the rs4938723 gene is a susceptible locus for cancer.