Association of TOX3 polymorphisms with breast cancer: A meta-analysis

- Significant associations with risk of breast cancer were observed in rs12443621 and rs8051542.
- Significant associations with risk of breast cancer were observed in rs3803662 for males.
- Significant associations with risk of breast cancer were observed in rs3803662 for European and whites.
- TOX3 might be a risk factor for breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women around the world. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TOX3 have been reported to be associated with susceptibility of BC in a number of studies. However, the results are inconsistent basing on limited number of studies and samples. To evaluate the overall effect between SNPs of TOX3 and risk of BC, we conducted a meta-analysis by combining all available studies. Studies were searched from the database of PubMed, PsycINFO and ISI web of Knowledge up to June 2016. The meta-analysis was conducted based on statement of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). Ten studies including 24,829 participants (10,778 cases and 14,051 controls) were available for the meta-analysis. Among three investigated SNPs, significant associations with risk of BC were observed in rs12443621 (allele A vs. allele G, OR = 0.94, P-value = 0.03; A/A + G/A vs. G/G, OR = 0.89, P-value = 0.01) and rs8051542 (allele C vs. allele T, OR = 0.89, P-value = 0.0002; C/C + T/C vs. T/T, OR = 0.77, P-value = 0.01; C/C vs. T/C + T/T, OR = 0.89, P-value = 0.01). Meanwhile, significant associations were observed in rs3803662 for males (allele C vs. allele T, OR = 0.65, P-value < 0.00001; C/C + T/C vs. T/T, OR = 0.54, P-value < 0.00001; C/C vs. T/C + T/T, OR = 0.59, P-value < 0.00001) and European and whites (allele C vs. allele T, OR = 0.70, P-value < 0.00001; C/C + T/C vs. T/T, OR = 0.61, P-value < 0.00001; C/C vs. T/C + T/T, OR = 0.69, P-value < 0.0001). This meta-analysis demonstrated three SNPs of TOX3 significantly associated with breast cancer, suggesting that the gene of TOX3 might be a risk factor of BC.