Associations between EGFR gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to glioma: a systematic review and meta-analysis from GWAS and case-control studies

The results of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and case-control studies performed to investigate the associations between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene polymorphisms and glioma risk are controversial. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine whether EGFR gene polymorphisms are associated with glioma risk by searching ‘PubMed’, ‘EMBASE’, ‘Web of Science’, ‘Cochrane Library’ and ‘China WeiPu Library’ to retrieve studies that investigated associations between EGFR gene polymorphisms and glioma risk. Four GWAS containing 35 studies and 7 case-control studies meeting the inclusion criteria were finally recruited, and 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed. The results showed a significant positive association between rs730437/rs845552 and glioma risk in Asians, and a significant negative association between them in Caucasians. In addition, rs11506105 was significantly associated with an increased risk of glioma in both Asians and Caucasians, and rs11979158 decreased the risk of glioma in Caucasians. However, no significant association was observed between rs12718945/rs17172432/rs4947492 and glioma risk in Asians, between rs2252586 and glioma risk in Caucasians, and between rs3752651 and glioma risk in either Asians or Caucasians. In conclusion, different SNPs in EGFR gene might have different impacts on the risk of glioma in various ethnicities, which offers new insights into the treatment with a target-oriented approach.