Tumour Necrosis Factor-α Polymorphisms and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Meta-analysis

The genetic basis of susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (H CC) is poorly understood. To summarize the quantitative association between polymorphisms of the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA) gene and HCC, a meta-analysis of relevant studies was performed. Ten case control studies involving 1421 HCC cases were identified from the Medline (R), Embase (R) and Current Contents databases. Combined results based on all studies showed that patients with HCC had a significantly lower frequency of the TNFA gene polymorphism -308GG than healthy controls. When stratifying for race, results were similar among Asians and Caucasians. When comparing with hepatitis B virus infection cases, no statistical association was found. This meta-analysis suggests that TNFA -308GG gene polymorphism is associated with a modest decrease in the risk of HCC.