Lack of association of the cyclooxygenase 8473 T>C polymorphism with lung cancer: evidence from 9841 subjects

Objective: Epidemiological studies on the association between T8473C polymorphism of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) and lung cancer risk have provided ambiguous data. To derive a more precise estimation of the association, we conducted a meta-analysis.

Methods: Systemic searches of the PubMed and MEDLINE databases were performed, with the last report up to May 2011. The meta-analysis was conducted with a fixed/random effect model.

Results: A total of 7 studies including 4,373 lung cancer patients and 5,468 controls were covered. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. No obvious associations were found for all genetic models when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (for C vs. T: OR = 0.948, 95% CI = 0.709-1.268; for TC vs. TT: OR = 0.970, 95% CI = 0.823-1.143; for CC vs. TT: OR = 1.141, 95% CI = 0.666-1.956; for CC/TC vs. TT: OR = 1.102, 95% CI = 0.818-1.251; for CC vs. TT/TC: OR = 1.090, 95% CI = 0.716-1.660). In the subgroup analyses by ethnicity (Asian and Caucasian) and source of controls (population based and hospital based), also no significant associations were found for all genetic models.

Conclusions: Taken together, this meta-analysis suggests that the COX 2 T8473C polymorphism is not associated with lung cancer risk.