Tumor necrosis factor rs361525 (-238G>A) polymorphism contributes to hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of the common polymorphisms of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-238G>A with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risks.

METHODS: The study design was cross-sectional, and carried out in Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China from December 2009 to May 2010. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all studies on the association of TNF rs361525 (-238G>A) polymorphism with HCC risk. The fixed or random effect pooled measure was selected based on homogeneity testing among studies. Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using Q test and I2. Publication bias was estimated using a modified Egger's linear regression test.

RESULTS: This current analysis including 708 HCC and 1,349 controls on TNF rs361525 (-238G>A) showed a significantly increased risk of HCC in different genetic models (heterozygote comparison: odds ratio [OR]=1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-2.39, P heterogeneity=0.292; dominant model comparison: OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.20-2.35, P heterogeneity=0.270; complete overdominant model comparison: OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.16-2.28. P heterogeneity=0.391; and allele comparison: OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.18-2.23, P heterogeneity=0.253). Neither heterogeneity nor publication bias was detected when analyses were performed on all 4 models.

CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis supports TNF rs361525 (-238G>A) polymorphism being associated with HCC in an Asian population.