The XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism contributes to cancer susceptibility: an update by meta-analysis of 53 individual studies

The X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) protein plays a central role in DNA repair pathways. Epidemiological studies have revealed the association between XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism and cancer risk, but the results were inconsistent. We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the effect of XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism on cancer susceptibility with accumulated data. Up to January 2012, 53 case‐control studies with 21,349 cases and 23,649 controls were available for our study. Summary odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism and cancer were estimated using fixed‐ or random-effects models when appropriate. Our meta-analysis identified that elevated cancer risk was statistically associated with the minor variant His allele and Arg–His/His–His genotypes both in the overall population (allele comparison, His versus Arg: OR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.08–1.25; dominant comparison, Arg–His/His–His versus Arg–Arg: OR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.08–1.27) and in terms of subgroup analyses by ethnicity for both Caucasians and non‐Caucasians. However, no significant result was observed in the stratified analysis by cancer type. Moreover, significantly increased cancer risk was observed in smokers. These findings indicated that XRCC1 Arg280His polymorphism may play a role in cancer development.