Genetic risk of lung cancer associated with a single nucleotide polymorphism from EXO1: a meta analysis

Background/Aim: Several reports have investigated the role of exonuclease 1 (EXO1) rs1047840 in lung cancer risk in different ethnic populations. Nevertheless, the results have been controversial. We aimed to assess the possible association between EXO1 rs1047840 and risk of lung cancer in a meta-analysis. Methods: Human hospital-or population-based studies released before December 16, 2013 were identified by systematic search of the PubMed and Embase databases. Data were extracted in duplicate from each study. An OR and 95% CI (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval) was calculated to evaluate the effects of EXO1 rs1047840 on lung carcinogenesis. Results: A total of 1,114 lung cancer patients and 1,166 well-matched controls were analyzed in this study. The fixed-effects meta-analysis revealed that carriage of a single A allele, compared to the carriage of single Gallele, was associated with 1.18 times increased risk of lung cancer (A vs. G: OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.03-1.35; P-Heterogeneity, 0.121). Conclusion: This first meta-analysis demonstrates that the A allele of EXO1 rs1047840 may confer modulating effects on the risk of lung cancer and could be used as a marker for early detection and primary prevention.