Association between tumor necrosis factor-alpha G-308A polymorphism and dental peri-implant disease risk: A meta-analysis

Background:Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-) is a potent immune-inflammatory mediator involved in the regulation of bone resorption. The single nucleotide polymorphism G-308A in the TNF- gene increases the level of this cytokine. This phenomenon is also related to several diseases. Although the association between TNF- (G-308A) polymorphism and dental peri-implant disease has been investigated, results have remained controversial. Hence, we performed this meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive and systematic conclusion on this topic.Methods:We performed a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure until July 2015. A fixed-effect model was established to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The calculated values were then used to assess the strength of the association between the TNF- (G-308A) polymorphism and the dental peri-implant disease risk. The heterogeneity between included studies was evaluated with Cochran Q and I-2 statistics. Interstudy publication bias was investigated with a funnel plot.Results:Six eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled ORs did not reveal a significant relationship between the TNF- (G-308A) polymorphism and the disease susceptibility. Subgroup analyses in terms of ethnicity and disease type yielded similar results.Conclusion:Our meta-analysis revealed that TNF- (G-308A) polymorphism was not significantly associated with the risk of dental peri-implant disease. However, further studies with large sample sizes should be performed to verify these results.