Association between FAS 1377G>A polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis

Published studies on the association between FAS 1377G>A polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility were inconclusive. To derive a more precise assessment of the association, a meta-analysis of published studies was performed. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for eligible studies on the association between FAS 1377G>A polymorphism and breast cancer susceptibility. Five studies with a total of 2,905 cases and 3,090 controls were included into the meta-analysis. Overall, FAS 1377G>A polymorphism was significantly associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer (for AA versus GG: odds ratio (OR) = 1.39, 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) 1.12–1.72, P = 0.003; for AA/GA versus GG: OR = 1.18, 95 % CI 1.06–1.32, P = 0.004; for AA versus GG/GA: OR = 1.28, 95 % CI 1.05–1.56, P = 0.015). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity found that FAS 1377G>A polymorphism was significantly associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer in Asians (for AA versus GG: OR = 1.48, 95 % CI 1.16–1.89, P = 0.001; for AA/GA versus GG: OR = 1.24, 95 % CI 1.06–1.46, P = 0.008; for AA versus GG/GA: OR = 1.35, 95 % CI 1.08–1.69, P = 0.008), but the association was not found in Caucasians. Therefore, the findings of the meta-analysis suggest that FAS 1377G>A polymorphism is significantly associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer in Asians.