Transforming growth factor-β1 gene polymorphisms with liver cirrhosis risk: A meta-analysis

Although several epidemiological studies have investigated the association of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-ß1) gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to liver cirrhosis (LC), controversial results exist. Consequently, we performed a meta-analysis to accurately evaluate the relationship of TGF-ß1-509C/T and codon 10 T/C polymorphisms with the risk of LC introduced by chronic hepatitis B/V virus (HBV/HCV) infection. A total of 9 case-control studies, involving 985 LC patients and 909 controls, were recruited for meta-analysis. The results suggested a significant association between the -509C/T polymorphism and LC risk in the total population. Stratification by ethnicity revealed similar associations in Egyptian and Caucasian populations, but not in Asian populations. Subgroup analyses by different etiologies also showed similar associations in HCV-induced LC, but not in HBV-induced LC. However, the overall data failed to show a significant association between codon 10 T/C polymorphism and the risk of LC in the study. We concluded that TGF-ß1-509C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with LC susceptibility, while the codon 10 T/C polymorphism seemed to have a limited role in predicting the occurrence of LC induced by HBV/HCV infection.