Lack of association between TNF-α gene promoter polymorphisms and pancreatitis: A meta-analysis

Background/Aims: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a major proinflammatory cytokine involved in the etiology of pancreatitis. The association between pancreatitis and the -308G>A and -238G>A polymorph isms in TNF-alpha gene has been analyzed in several studies, but results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to integrate previous findings and explore whether these polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility and severity to pancreatitis. Methods: A meta-analysis was performed by searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect databases. Data were extracted using predefined form and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: Our meta-analysis of a total of 1569 pancreatitis cases and 1330 control subjects from twelve published case-control studies for the -308G > A polymorphism (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.83-1.17), and of 480 cases and 302 controls from four studies for the -238G > A polymorphism (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.58-1.47) did not show any significant associations of susceptibility to pancreatitis with the variant GA+AA genotypes compared with the GG genotype. An association between severity of acute pancreatitis and -308G>A polymorphism was not found either (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.69-1.24). Conclusion: Polymorphisms in two sites of TNF-alpha gene promoter do not alter the risk of pancreatitis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.