Association Between TP53 Arg72Pro Polymorphism and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: A Meta-analysis

Background: Previous studies on the association between the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) risk obtained controversial findings. This study aimed to quantify the strength of theassociation by meta-analysis.
Methods: We searched PubMed and Wangfang databases for published studieson the association between the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and HCC risk, using the pooled odds ratio (OR)with its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for assessment.
Results: 10 studies with a total of 2,026 cases and2,733 controls were finally included into this meta-analysis. Overall, the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism wasnot associated with HCC risk (all P values greaterth HCC risk in Caucasians in three genetic models (For Proversus Arg, OR = 1.20, 95%CI 1.03-1.41; For ProPro versus ArgArg, OR = 1.74, 95%CI 1.23-2.47; For ProProversus ArgPro/ArgArg, OR = 1.85, 95%CI 1.33-2.57). However, there was no significant association betweenthe TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and HCC risk in East Asians (all P values greater than 0.10). No evidenceof publication bias was observed.
Conclusion: Meta-analyses of available data suggest an obvious associationbetween the TP53 Arg72Pro and HCC risk in Caucasians. However, the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism mayhave a race-specific effect on HCC risk and further studies are needed to elucidate this possible effect.