Telomere Science Library

Publications, Presentations, and Videos
about the Nobel-Prize Winning Science of Telomere Biology

Telomere reverse transcriptase (TERT) rs2735940 increases cancer risk.

cancer

genetics

Authors: Hui H. Yang, Jing J. Li, Ruihua R. Tang, Yaxiong Y. Liu, Yan Y. Shao, Qingsheng Q. Huang, Junling J. Shi
Published: 02/26/2015, Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research

Background

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) rs2735940 polymorphism was found to be associated with increased cancer risk. However, recent studies reported controversial results. The aim of our study was to detect its relationship with cancer risk.

Material And Methods

EMBASE and PubMed databases were searched for all publications until October 2014. ORs and 95% CIs were applied to investigate the association in the random-effects model.

Results

Thirteen case-control studies with 19385 cases and 17558 controls were included in this study. We found a significant association between cancer risk and TERT rs2735940 polymorphism (OR=1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.11, P=0.005). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, a marginal association was found in Caucasians (OR=1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.10, P=0.05), but not in Asians (OR=1.01, 95% CI 0.82-1.24, P=0.93). In the subgroup analysis by cancer site, this polymorphism was significantly associated with lung cancer risk (OR=1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.13, P=0.004).

Conclusions

TERT rs2735940 polymorphism was significantly associated with cancer risk, especially lung cancer.

PubMed Full Text