Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) rs2736100 polymorphism contributes to increased risk of glioma: evidence from a meta-analysis.

The rs2736100 polymorphism in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene has been implicated as a risk factor for glioma in previous epidemiological studies. However, the data from these studies were inconclusive for the precise association of TERT rs2736100 with glioma. Here we employed a meta-analysis aiming to evaluate such association. The PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were systematically searched for eligible studies. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was estimated to assess the strength of this association in fixed or random effects models. A total of 5 studies in 16 articles including 7337 cases and 12062 controls were eventually collected. Our analyses showed that there was a significant association between TERT rs2736100 polymorphism and glioma in all five genetic models(homozygous model-GG vs. TT: OR=1.64, 95% CI=1.50~1.79, P heterogeneity=0.253, I(2) =17.5%; heterozygous model-GT vs. TT: OR=1.38, 95% CI=1.27~1.49, P heterogeneity=0.235, I(2) =19.1%; dominant model-GG+GT vs. TT: OR=1.46, 95% CI=1.36~1.57, P heterogeneity=0.167, I(2) =25.5%; recessive model-GG vs. GT+TT: OR=1.31, 95% CI=1.22~1.40, P heterogeneity=0.796, I(2) =0.0%; additive model-G allele vs. T allele: OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.21~1.32, P heterogeneity=0.481, I(2) =0.0%). Further subgroup analysis on control source and ethnicity, we found similar association in population-based, hospital-based and Caucasians groups. The result of heterogeneity test were in acceptable range (P<0.05 and I(2) <50%). Egger's tests and Begg's funnel plot did not show any publication bias. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that our results were reliable. Taken together, our meta-analysis suggested that TERT rs2736100 polymorphism may greatly increase glioma risk.