Association of XRCC2 rs3218536 Polymorphism with Susceptibility of Breast and Ovarian Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have investigated the association of X-Ray Repair Cross-Complementing Group 2 (XRCC2) rs3218536 polymorphism with breast and ovarian cancer. However, this association remains conflicting. Therefore, we have performed the current systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the association between XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism with risk of breast and ovarian cancer. METHODS: We conducted a search in PubMed, Google Scholar and ISI Web of Science to select relevant studies on the association of XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism with breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility. We calculated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for five genetic contrasts. In addition, a stratified analysis was conducted cancer type, ethnicity and HWE status. RESULTS: A total of 17 studies with 5694 cases and 6450 controls for breast cancer and nine case-control studies with 4464 cases and 6353 controls for ovarian cancer were identified for the analysis of the association with XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism. The pooled ORs revealed that XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism was associated with breast cancer under the heterozygote contrast (AG vs. GG: OR = 0.929, 95% CI = 0.873-0.987, p=0.018) and ovarian cancer under dominant contrast (AA+AG vs. GG: OR = 0.725, 95% CI = 0.537-0.979, p=0.036) in the overall population. The stratified analysis indicated a significant association of XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism with breast and ovarian cancer risk among Caucasians. CONCLUSION: Inconsistent with previous meta-analysis, this meta-analysis shows that the XRCC2 rs3218536 polymorphism was associated with breast and ovarian cancer risk in overall population, especially among Caucasians.