Association of TGF-β1 Polymorphisms with Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis of Case–Control Studies

Abstract

Reports on the association of TGF-β1 polymorphisms with breast cancer (BC) have been conflicting, inconsistent, inconclusive, and controversial. PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were used to identify studies on TGF-β1 polymorphisms and BC risk. Data were extracted independently, and of the initial 3043 studies, 39 case-control studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Information from these studies was extracted, and the overall associations of three TGF-β1 polymorphisms (TGF-β1 29>T/C, TGF-β1-509 C/T, and TGF-β1*6A) with BC risk were analyzed using overall allele, homozygous, heterozygous, recessive, and dominant models. None of the three TGF-β1 polymorphisms studied had a significant influence on the development of BC. However, stratified analysis revealed a positive correlation between the TGF-β1 29T>C polymorphism and BC risk according to a heterozygous model of the Asian population (odds ratio (OR) = 1.115, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.006–1.237, p = 0.039). Interestingly, this polymorphism was associated with lower odds of BC according to a heterozygous model of the Middle Eastern population (OR = 0.602, 95% CI = 0.375–0.966, p = 0.035). Thus, our analysis of large datasets indicates that the TGF-β1 29T>C polymorphism is significantly associated with BC risk in the Asian population. In contrast, the TGF-β1*6A and TGF-β1-509 C/T polymorphisms failed to show an association with BC.

The microRNA Lifecycle in Health and Cancer

“…The extra recognition site in the mRNA results in significantly more suppression of the target. In line with TGF-β acting as a tumour suppressor during the early stages of cancer development, a meta-analysis of 39 case–control studies indicated that rs1982073 was significantly associated with breast cancer risk in the Asian population [ 173 ]. In addition to SNPs affecting miRNA:mRNA target recognition, SNPs can also influence the degree of silencing.…”