ERCC2 is an essential component of the nucleotide excision repair pathway which is involved in the effectivemaintenance of genome integrity. Association studies on ERCC2 polymorphisms and glioma risk have yieldedinconclusive results. This meta-analysis was performed to gain a better insight into the relationship betweenERCC2 polymorphisms and glioma risk. A systematic literature search updated to December 2, 2013 wasperformed in the Pubmed and EMBASE databases. Crude pooled odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to estimate the association between ERCC2 polymorphisms andglioma risk under a suitable effect model according to heterogeneity. All analyses were performed using ReviewManager 5 (version 5.2) and STATA (version 12.0). The combined results demonstrated rs13181 to be significantlyassociated with glioma risk (G allele versus T allele: OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.05–1.26, P=0.002; dominant model:OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.07–1.39, P=0.002; recessive model: OR=1.18, 95% CI=0.98–1.41, P=0.070). We also foundthat rs13181 acts in an allele dose–dependent manner (GG versus TT: OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.07–1.57, P=0.009;TG versus TT: OR=1.20, 95%=CI 1.05–1.37, P=0.009; trend test, P=0.004). However, no evidence was found inanalyses for the association between other 3 ERCC2 polymorphisms (rs238406, rs1799793, and rs1052555) andsusceptibility to glioma development. Our meta-analysis suggests that rs13181 is significantly associated withglioma risk in an allele dose–dependent manner, whereas, 3 other ERCC2 polymorphisms (rs238406, rs1799793,and rs1052555) may have no influence.
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