Contribution of PGR genetic polymorphisms to the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer: A meta-analysis

Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis is to identify whether two common genetic polymorphisms (rs1042838 G > T and rs10895068 C > T) in the PGR gene may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer. Materials and Methods: The MEDLINE (1966 similar to 2013), the Cochrane Library Database (Issue 12, 2013), EMBASE (1980 similar to 2013), CINAHL (1982 similar to 2013), Web of Science (1945 similar to 2013) and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1982 similar to 2013) were searched without language restrictions. Meta-analyses were conducted using the STATA software (Version 12.0, Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas, USA). We calculated odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) to estimate the relationships between PGR genetic polymorphisms and the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer. Results: Six studies with a total of 6,285 patients with endometrial cancer and 12,120 control subjects met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Our findings suggested that PGR rs1042838 polymorphism was significantly correlated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer (T allele vs. G allele: OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.07 similar to 1.42, P = 0.005; GT TT vs. GG: OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06 similar to 1.40, P = 0.006; TT vs. GG GT: OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.09 similar to 2.49, P = 0.017; TT vs. GG: OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.12 similar to 2.65, P = 0.013; TT vs. GT: OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.01 similar to 2.00, P = 0.044, respectively). We also observed positive associations between PGR rs10895068 polymorphism and the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer (T allele vs. C allele: OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02 similar to 1.29, P = 0.027; CT TT vs. CC: OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.00 similar to 1.29, P = 0.045, respectively). Conclusion: Ethnicity-stratified analysis indicated that rs1042838 and rs10895068 polymorphisms in the PGR gene might be strongly related to the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer among Caucasians and mixed populations (all P < 0.05). In conclusion, our findings provide empirical evidence that PGR rs1042838 and rs10895068 polymorphisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of endometrial cancer.