XRCC1 codon 280 polymorphism and susceptibility to lung cancer: a meta-analysis of the literatures

The X-ray repair cross-complementation group 1 (XRCC1) protein plays an important role in base excision repair, and the genetic polymorphisms in the XRCC1 gene influence its function. XRCC1 codon 280 polymorphism is an Arg-His change in the XRCC1 gene. Many studies were published to investigate the association between XRCC1 codon 280 polymorphism and risk of lung cancer, but the results were inconsistent. We performed a meta-analysis of 16 studies with a total of 18,660 subjects (8,736 cases and 9,924 controls). The pooled odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI) for the gene–disease association were calculated. Overall, there was a significant association between XRCC1 codon 280 polymorphism and increased risk of lung cancer (HisHis vs. ArgArg: OR = 1.53, 95 % CI 1.08–2.16, P = 0.016; HisHis vs. ArgArg/ArgHis: OR = 1.55, 95 % CI 1.10–2.19, P = 0.012). However, subgroup analysis by race failed to confirm the obvious association in Europeans and Asians. Therefore, there is a significant association between XRCC1 codon 280 polymorphism and increased risk of lung cancer. More studies with a large sample are needed to further evaluate the possible race-specific effect in the association above.