Associations between the rs6010620 Polymorphism in RTEL1 and Risk of Glioma: a Meta-analysis of 20,711 Participants

Background: Associations between the rs6010620 polymorphism in the regulator of telomere elongation helicase1 (RTEL1) gene and glioma have been widely reported but the results were not inconclusive. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between the rs6010620 polymorphism in RTEL1 gene and risk of glioma by meta-analysis. Materials and
Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Weipu and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases, which included all research published 05 May 2014.A total of 8,292 cases and 12,419 controls from 14 case-control studies involving the rs6010620 polymorphism in the RTEL1 gene were included. Statistical analysis was performed using STATA 12.0 software.
Results: The results indicated that the rs6010620 polymorphism in RTEL1 gene was indeed associated with risk of glioma (OR=1.474, 95%CI=1.282-1.694, p<0.001). On subgroup analysis by ethnicity, we found associations between the rs6010620 polymorphism in the RTEL1 gene and risk of glioma in both Caucasians and Asians.
Conclusions:The current meta-analysis suggested that the rs6010620 polymorphism in the RTEL1 gene might increase risk of glioma. In future, larger case-control studies are needed to confirm our results.