Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and their association with risk of cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background There have been a large number of epidemiologic studies regarding the association between genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and onset of cervical cancer. However, results are inconsistent. Methods Articles published before June 2021 and regarding genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and cervical cancer were searched in following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and CNKI. With at least three articles for each polymorphism, we made meta-analysis to compute multivariate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results The present study showed significant associations between XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms and risk of cervical cancer in Asian, whereas no significant association between them were showed in Caucasian (Asian: GA vs. GG: OR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.06-1.52; AA vs. GG: OR = 1.91, 95%CI 1.29-2.83; GA + AA vs. GG: OR = 1.36, 95%CI 1.12-1.65; AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 1.66, 95%CI 1.17-2.37; Caucasian: GA vs. GG: OR = 1.08, 95%CI 0.83-1.41; AA vs. GG: OR = 2.18, 95%CI 0.75-6.31; GA + AA vs. GG: OR = 1.23, 95%CI 0.85-1.78; AA vs. GG + GA: OR = 1.70, 95%CI 0.69-4.18). In addition, there were significant associations between ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms and risk of cervical cancer in Asian (AC vs AA: OR = 0.53, 95%CI 0.37-0.75, I-2 = 0.0%, p value of Q test = 0.847; AC + CC vs AA: OR = 0.50, 95%CI 0.36-0.70, I-2 = 0.0%, p value of Q test = 0.856). Conclusions The meta-analysis showed that there were significant associations between XRCC1 Arg399Gln and ERCC2 rs13181 polymorphisms and risk of cervical cancer.