RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Two polymorphisms, -260C>T (rs2569190) and -561C>T (rs5744455), in the CD14 gene have been implicated in susceptibility to cancer. However, the results remain inconclusive. The current meta-analysis was carried out aiming to confirm the function of these two polymorphisms on the susceptibility of cancer. METHODS: We collected eligible studies from databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP (Weipu). We used logistic regression calculation to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: After strict selection, 24 studies with 5854 cases and 10339 controls for -260C>T and seven studies with 1809 cases and 7289 controls for -561C>T were finally enlisted into our analysis reference material. Pool results revealed that neither -260C>T, nor -561C>T was found to have any association with overall cancer susceptibility. Nevertheless, when stratified by cancer type, we detected a decreased risk associated with other cancers in a heterozygous model (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.51-0.93, p = 0.014) and a dominant model (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.53-0.93, p = 0.012) for -561C>T. An increased risk was found in other cancers under an allele model (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.03-1.62, p = 0.026), in laryngeal cancer under a dominant model (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.11-1.71, p = 0.003) and for a score ≤ 9 under a recessive model (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.09-1.91, p = 0.009) for -561C>T. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, we conclude that the CD14 -260C>T and -561C>T polymorphisms might not be associated with overall cancer risk. Further studies are encouraged to confirm this conclusion.