Significant Association of Alpha-Methylacyl-CoA Racemase Gene Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Prostate Cancer: a Meta-Analysis

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase(AMACR) is thought to play key roles in diagnosis andprognosis of prostate cancer. However, studies of associations between AMACR gene polymorphisms andprostate cancer risk reported inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted the present meta-analysis to clarifythe link between AMACR gene polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: A literaturesearch was performed in PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang andWeipu databases. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated to assess thestrength of any association between AMACR polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk. Subgroup analyses byethnicity, source of controls, quality control and sample size were also conducted. <br/><b>Results</b>: Five studies covering3,313 cases and 3,676 controls on five polymorphisms (D175G, M9V, S201L, K277E and Q239H) were includedin this meta-analysis. Significant associations were detected between prostate cancer and D175G (dominantmodel: OR=0.89, 95%CI=0.80-0.99, P=0.04) and M9V (dominant model: OR=0.87, 95%CI=0.78-0.97, P=0.01)polymorphisms as well as that in subgroup analyses. We also observed significant decreased prostate cancer riskin the dominant model (OR=0.90, 95%CI=0.81-0.99, P=0.04) for the S201L polymorphism. However, K277Eand Q239H polymorphisms did not appear to be related to prostate cancer risk. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: The current metaanalysisindicated that D175G and M9V polymorphisms of the AMACR gene are related to prostate cancer. TheS201L polymorphism might also be linked with prostate cancer risk to some extent. However, no associationwas observed between K277E or Q239H polymorphisms and susceptibility to prostate cancer.