Effects of eNOS gene polymorphisms on individual susceptibility to cancer: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Whether endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms are implicated in cancer development remains controversial. Therefore, we performed this study to obtain a more conclusive result on associations between eNOS polymorphisms and cancer.

METHODS: Literature retrieve was conducted in PubMed, Medline and Embase. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

RESULTS: Forty-one studies were enrolled for analyses. Pooled overall analyses showed that rs1799983 (dominant model: p = 0.01; recessive model: p = 0.007; allele model: p = 0.005), rs2070744 (recessive model: p = 0.004) and rs869109213 (recessive model: p < 0.0001; allele model: p = 0.02) polymorphisms were all significantly associated with individual susceptibility to cancer. Further subgroup analyses revealed that rs2070744 and rs869109213 polymorphisms were only significantly associated with individual susceptibility to cancer in Caucasians, whereas the rs1799983 polymorphism was significantly associated with individual susceptibility to cancer in both Caucasians and Asians.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that rs1799983, rs2070744 and rs869109213 polymorphisms may serve as genetic biomarkers of cancer in certain ethnicities.