Predictive Value of Two Polymorphisms of ERCC2, rs13181 and rs1799793, in Clinical Outcomes of Chemotherapy in Gastric Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Several researchers have investigated the relationship between ERCC2 rs13181 and rs1799793 polymorphisms and chemotherapy efficacy in terms of tumour response and prognosis in gastric patients. However, the published data have shown inconsistencies. METHODS: PubMed, Elsevier, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched for relevant articles published before August 1, 2017. Thirteen studies including 3096 gastric cancer patients treated with chemotherapy were included. RESULTS: For rs1799793, in the overall analyses, no relationships were found between four genetic models and clinical response (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.17, 95% CI, 0.70–1.95; GA vs. GG: OR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.69–1.27; GA + AA vs. GG: OR = 1.12, 95% CI, 0.85–1.46; and AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 1.24, 95% CI, 0.81–1.92). In stratified analyses, the results remained negative. We also found no relationship between each of the genetic models and overall survival time in the overall analyses. In the stratified analyses, for Asians, the A carrier genotype might be more closely associated with shorter survival time and higher risk of death for patients than the GG genotype (AA vs. GG: HR = 1.77, 95% CI, 1.20–2.6; GA + AA vs. GG: HR = 1.62, 95% CI, 1.26–2.09), but the results were negative for Caucasians. No significant relationships were found between the rs13181 polymorphism and OR or OS. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggested that the ERCC2 rs1799793 polymorphism might be a predictor of prognosis in gastric cancer patients subjected to platinum-based chemotherapy.