Association between the TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma in Asians: a meta-analysis.

Background: Several epidemiological studies have previously investigated the association between the TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) susceptibility; however, current results are inconsistent. We therefore performed this meta-analysis to thoroughly investigate any association among Asian patients.

Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed and Embase databases was performed up to December 2013. We only considered studies consisting of patients diagnosed with OSCC by pathological methods. Statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager (RevMan) 5.2 software and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association.

Results: A total of 11 case-control studies involving 2,298 OSCC patients and 2,111 controls were included. We found no association between the TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and OSCC susceptibility [(OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.48-1.22) for Arg vs. Pro; (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.31-1.43) ArgArg vs. ProPro; (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.97-1.35) ArgPro vs. ProPro; (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.53-1.34) (ArgPro + ArgArg) vs. ProPro; or (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.34-1.23) for ArgArg vs. (ProPro + ArgPro)]. However, subgroup analysis demonstrated an association between the TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related OSCC patients. Although statistical heterogeneity was detected, there was no evidence of publication bias.

Conclusions: Current results suggest that the TP53 codon 72 polymorphism is not associated with OSCC in Asians without the presence of HPV infection. Further research is necessary to determine if such a relationship exists in HPV-related OSCC patients.