Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Polymorphisms and Risk of Cancer Metastasis: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background:HIF-1α is a major regulator in tumor progression and metastasis which responds to hypoxia. Many studies have demonstrated that hypoxia-inducible factor1-α (HIF-1α) polymorphisms are significantly associated with cancer metastasis, but the results are inconsistent. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to estimate the associations between HIF-1α C1772 T polymorphism and cancer metastasis.Methods:Comprehensive searches were conducted on PubMed and EMBASE database. Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. We used the OR and 95%CI to assess the associations between HIF-1α C1772T polymorphism and cancer metastasis. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also assessed by Q test, I2, and funnel plot.Results:Totally, fifteen studies including 1239 cases with metastasis-positive (M+) and 2711 cases with metastasis-negative (M-) were performed in this meta-analysis. The results showed that HIF-1a C1772T polymorphism was associated with the increased risk of cancer metastasis (T allele vs. C allele, OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.12-1.64; TT+ TC vs. CC, OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.13-1.71; TT vs. TC+ CC, OR = 1.93, 95% CI = 0.86-4.36). In the subgroup analyses, the significant associations remained significant among Asians, Caucasians and other cancers in the dominant model. Publication bias was not observed in the analysis.Conclusions:Our results indicate that the HIF-1αC1772T polymorphism T allele may increase the risk of cancer metastasis, which might be a potential risk factor of cancer progress.