Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin-17 (IL-17) gene have been shown to be correlated with susceptibility to cancer. However, various studies report different results of this association. The aim of the present work was to clarify the effects of IL-17A G197A (rs2275913) and IL-17F T7488C (rs763780) polymorphisms on cancer risk. We performed systematic searches of the PubMed and CNKI databases to obtain relevant publications. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to evaluate the association of rs2275913 and rs763780 polymorphisms with cancer risk. Data were extracted from the selected studies, and statistical analysis was conducted using the STATA software. Our results indicated that rs2275913 and rs763780 polymorphisms significantly increase cancer risk, especially in gastric cancers. Subgroup analysis suggested the existence of a significant correlation between rs763780 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility in Caucasian populations. This updated meta-analysis confirms that rs2275913 and rs763780 polymorphisms are highly associated with increased risk for multiple forms of cancer.