Association of XRCC3 Thr241Met Polymorphisms and Gliomas Risk: Evidence from a Meta-analysis

The relationship between the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) Thr241Met polymorphismand gliomas remains inclusive or controversial. For better understanding of the effect of XRCC3 Thr241Metpolymorphism on glioma risk, a meta-analysis was performed. All eligible studies were identified through asearch of PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase) and Chinese BiomedicalLiterature Database (CBM) before May 2013. The association between the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphismand gliomas risk was conducted by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). A total of ninecase-control studies including 3,533 cases and 4,696 controls were eventually collected. Overall, we found thatXRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of gliomas (T vs. C: OR=1.10,95%CI=1.01-1.20, P=0.034; TT vs. CC: OR=1.30, 95%CI=1.03-1.65, P=0.027; TT vs. TC/CC: OR=1.29,95%CI=1.01-1.64, P=0.039). In the subgroup analysis based on ethnicity, the significant association was foundin Asian under four models (T vs. C: OR=1.17, 95%CI=1.07-1.28, P=0.00; TT vs. CC: OR=1.79, 95%CI=1.36-2.36, P=0.00; TT vs. TC/CC: OR=1.75, 95%CI=1.32-2.32, P=0.00; TT/TC vs. CC: OR=1.11,95% CI=1.02-1.20).This meta-analysis suggested that the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism is a risk factor for gliomas, especiallyfor Asians. Considering the limited sample size and ethnicities included in the meta-analysis, further large scaleand well-designed studies are needed to confirm our results.