Though numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the associations between five 8q24 polymorphisms (rs6983267 T>G, rs1447295 C>A, rs16901979 C>A, rs6983561 A>C and rs10090154 C>T) and prostate cancer (PCa) risk, the available results remained contradictory. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to derive a precise estimation of such associations. We searched electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Wan Fang for the relevant available studies up to February 1st, 2017, and 39 articles were ultimately adopted in this meta-analysis. All data were extracted independently by two investigators and recorded in a unified form. The strength of association between 8q24 polymorphisms and PCa susceptibility was evaluated by the pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Subgroup analysis was conducted based on ethnicity, source of controls and genotypic method. Overall, a total of 39 articles containing 80 studies were adopted in this meta-analysis. The results of this meta-analysis indicated that five 8q24 polymorphisms above were all related to PCa susceptibility. Besides, in the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, all selected 8q24 polymorphisms were significantly associated with PCa risk in Asian population. In addition, stratification analysis by source of controls showed that significant results were mostly concentrated in the studies' controls from general population. Moreover, when stratified by genotypic method, significant increased PCa risks were found by TaqMan method. Therefore, this meta-analysis demonstrated that 8q24 polymorphisms (rs6983267 T>G, rs1447295 C>A, rs16901979 C>A, rs6983561 A>C and rs10090154 C>T) were associated with the susceptibility to PCa, which held the potential biomarkers for PCa risk.
Keywords: 8q24; Meta-analysis.; Polymorphisms; Prostate cancer.