Ethnicity-stratified analysis of the association between XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and leukemia: an updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Presently, whether X-ray repair cross complementing group 3 (XRCC3) Thr241Met polymorphism is correlated to leukemia risk remains controversial. Because of this reason, the objective of current study is to explore whether XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism confers risk to leukemia. METHODS: Two independent authors systematically and comprehensively searched Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane library, Google academic, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Search time is from database foundation to March 2021. RESULTS: Overall, significant associations between leukemia risk and XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism were found in Caucasian population by allele contrast (T vs. C: OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.40), homozygote comparison (TT vs. CC: OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.05–1.73), and recessive genetic model (TT vs. TC/CC: OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.04–1.64). CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis suggests that the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism may be a risk factor for leukemia in Caucasian population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12920-021-01076-w.