Association between the Epidermal Growth Factor 61*A/G Polymorphism and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk: a Meta-Analysis

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) may play a pathological role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).However, the conclusions of published reports on the relationship between the EGF 61*A/G polymorphism andHCC risk remain controversial. To derive a more precise estimation we performed a meta-analysis based on14 studies that together included 2,506 cases and 4,386 controls. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge andthe Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were used to retrieve articles up to August1, 2014. The crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated to evaluate theassociation. Meta-analysis results showed a significant association between the EGF 61*A/G polymorphismand HCC risk in all four genetic models (allele model: OR=1.25, 95%CI=1.12-1.40; dominant model: OR=1.32,95%CI=1.14-1.54; recessive model: OR=1.33, 95%CI=1.12-1.58; ho-mozygous model: OR=1.59, 95%CI=1.33-1.90). Moreover, significant associations were observed when stratified by ethnicity, source of controls, etiologyand genotype methods. Thus, this meta-analysis suggests that the G-allele of the EGF 61*A/G polymorphismis associated with an increased risk of HCC, especially in Asians and Caucasians, without influence from thesource of controls or etiological diversity. Further studies with larger population sizes are needed to confirmthese results.