Association between tumor necrosis factor alpha gene polymorphisms and multiple myeloma risk: an updated meta-analysis

Objective This study aimed to investigate the relationship between tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) polymorphisms and multiple myeloma (MM) risk. Methods Eligible studies were retrieved from PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI and the Wanfang database. Polymorphisms of TNF alpha-308 G/A, TNF alpha-857 C/T, and TNF alpha-238 G/A were analyzed based on the allele, recessive, dominant, and additive-dominant models. The meta-analysis was conducted using R 3.12 software. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used as evaluation indicators. Heterogeneity among studies was detected. Publication bias was evaluated. Sensitivity and power analyses were also conducted. Results Significant associations existed between 'TT vs. CC' (OR = 2.3752, 95% CI = 1.1342-4.9740) and 'TT vs. CC + TC' (OR = 2.0802, 95% CI = 1.0250-4.2218) models of the TNF alpha-857 C/T gene and MM risk. There were no significant differences in other genetic models of TNF alpha-857 C/T or any genetic models of TNF alpha-308 G/A and TNF alpha-238 G/A. No significant publication bias existed among the studies. In addition, sensitivity analyses showed that meta-analysis results of all genetic models of the TNF alpha-238 G/A gene did not change after omitting one of these studies, but most models of TNF alpha-857 C/T and TNF alpha-308 G/A exhibited significant changes. Conclusion Our findings indicate that the 'TT vs. CC' and 'TT vs. CC + TC' of TNF alpha-857 C/T are correlated with MM risk. TNF alpha-857 C/T may be a risk factor for MM development. There is no association between TNF alpha-238/-308 polymorphisms and MM risk.