Role of MUC1 rs4072037 polymorphism in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis

Background and objective: To further determine the association between mucin 1 (MUC1) rs4072037 polymorphism and gastric cancer risk on the basis of previously published studies. Methodology: PubMed and Embase were used to search all the available publications. The relative risk of the correlation was shown as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) under all the genetic comparisons. Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity, study design and HWE were also executed to detect effects of specific factors on the risk of gastric cancer. Results: MUC1 rs4072037 polymorphism was observed to reduce the risk of gastric cancer under the five genetic comparisons [(GG versus AA: OR (95% CI)=0.72 (0.61, 0.84); GG + GA versus AA: OR (95% CI)=0.82 (0.76, 0.88); GG versus AA + GA: OR (95% CI)=0.83 (0.71, 0.96); G versus A: OR (95% CI)=0.78 (0.72, 0.84); GA versus AA: OR (95% CI)=0.80 (0.74, 0.87)]. This decreased risk of gastric cancer was also detected in subgroup analyses based on ancestry (Asian and Caucasian), study design (population-based and hospital-based) and HWE (PHWE>0.05). Conclusions: MUC1 rs4072037 polymorphism may have an important role in gastric cancer, and this protective effect may vary among different ethnic populations and control subjects.