Folate metabolism genetic polymorphisms and meningioma and glioma susceptibility in adults

Polymorphic variants of genes involved in folate metabolism are implicated in the susceptibility to meningioma and glioma, but the results from published articles are controversial and inconclusive. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis including all studies available to evaluate the relationship between folate metabolism genetic polymorphisms and the susceptibility to meningioma and glioma in adults. We searched the literature in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Library for relevant articles published up to August 2016. The odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% Cls) were used to evaluate the associations of two folate metabolism genetic variants MTRR A66G (rs1801394) and MTHFR A1298C (rs1801131) with the risk of meningioma and glioma in adults. We found significant association of MTHFR A1298C (rs1801131) variant genotypes with increased incidence of meningioma and glioma in this study population (CA vs. AA: OR = 1.22, P < 0.001; CA + CC vs. AA: OR = 1.18, P = 0.002). Moreover, we found that MTRR A66G (rs1801394) variant genotypes was associated with increased risk of meningioma and glioma (G vs. A: OR = 1.11, P = 0.020; GG vs. AA + AG: OR = 1.17, P = 0.043; GG vs. AA: OR = 1.22, P = 0.023). In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that two folate metabolism genetic variants MTRR A66G (rs1801394) and MTHFR A1298C (rs1801131) contribute to genetic susceptibility to meningioma and glioma in adults.