Associations of Genetic Polymorphisms of mTOR rs2295080 T/G and rs1883965 G/A with Susceptibility of Urinary System Cancers

BACKGROUND: Genetic polymorphisms in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling axis can influence the susceptibility of cancer. The relationship between mTOR gene variants rs2295080 T/G and rs1883965 G/A and the risk of cancer remains inconsistent. The present study is aimed at comprehensively investigating the association between mTOR polymorphisms and susceptibility to cancer. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive assessment using odds ratios (ORs), corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and in silico tools to evaluate the effect of mTOR variations. Immunohistochemical staining (IHS) and GSEA analysis were used to investigate the expression of mTOR in urinary system cancer. RESULTS: The pooled analysis involved 22 case-control studies including 14,747 cancer patients and 16,399 controls. The rs2295080 T/G polymorphism was associated with the risk of cancer (G-allele versus T-allele, OR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.80–0.98, P = 0.023; GT versus TT, OR = 0.88, 95%CI = 0.81–0.96, P = 0.004; GG+GT versus TT, OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.78–0.96, P = 0.008), especially for cancers of the urinary system, breast, and blood. Variation rs1883965 G/A was associated with cancer susceptibility, especially for digestive cancer. IHS analysis showed that mTOR was upregulated in prostate and bladder cancer. GSEA revealed that the insulin signaling pathway, lysine degradation pathway, and mTOR signaling pathway were enriched in the high mTOR expression group. CONCLUSIONS: The mTOR rs2295080 T/G polymorphism may be associated with susceptibility of urinary cancer. The expression of mTOR is positively correlated with tumor malignancy in prostate cancer.