Associations between Fas/FasL polymorphisms and susceptibility to cervical cancer: a meta-analysis

Genetic polymorphisms in the Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) gene were proposed to be associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer, but previous studies reported controversial findings. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the associations between Fas/FasL polymorphisms and susceptibility to cervical cancer. We carried out a literature search in PubMed and Embase databases for studies on the associations between Fas/FasL polymorphisms and susceptibility to cervical cancer. The associations were assessed by odds ratio (OR) together with its 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Eleven individual studies with a total of 6,919 subjects were finally included into the meta-analysis. Overall, there was no association between Fas 1377G > A polymorphism and susceptibility to cervical cancer (A vs. G: OR = 0.99, 95 % CI 0.88–1.12, P = 0.91; AA vs. GG: OR = 1.00, 95 % CI 0.76–1.32, P = 0.99; AA/GA vs. GG: OR = 0.95, 95 % CI 0.81–1.12, P = 0.54; AA vs. GG/GA: OR = 1.11, 95 % CI 0.85–1.43, P = 0.45). In addition, there was also no association between FasL 844 T > C polymorphism and susceptibility to cervical cancer (C vs. T: OR = 1.12, 95 % CI 0.91–1.36, P = 0.28; CC vs. TT: OR = 1.17, 95 % CI 0.90–1.51, P = 0.24; CC/TC vs. TT: OR = 1.13, 95 % CI 0.92–1.39, P = 0.24; CC vs. TT/TC: OR = 1.11, 95 % CI 0.83–1.50, P = 0.47). In subgroup analysis by ethnicity, there were also no associations between Fas/FasL polymorphisms and susceptibility to cervical cancer in Asians and Africans. In conclusion, Fas 1377G > A polymorphism and FasL 844 T > C polymorphism are both not associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer.