Associations between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphisms and hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Chinese population

Genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene are considered to have some influence on both folate metabolism and cancer risk. Previous studies on the associations of MTHFR genetic polymorphisms with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in Chinese population reported inconsistent results. We performed this meta-analysis to comprehensively assess the associations. Finally, 12 individual case-control studies were included into the meta-analysis. There were seven studies (6,384 subjects) on the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and five studies (4,502 subjects) on the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism. Overall, MTHFR C677T polymorphism was significantly associated with susceptibility to HCC in Chinese population (T versus C, odds ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) 1.01-1.17; TT versus CC, OR = 1.17, 95 % CI 1.00-1.38; TT/CT versus CC, OR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.00-1.26). MTHFR A1298C polymorphism was conversely associated with HCC risk in Chinese population (CC versus AA, OR = 0.65, 95 % CI 0.46-0.91; CC versus AA/AC, OR = 0.64, 95 % CI 0.46-0.90). The sensitivity analysis confirmed the reliability and stability of the meta-analysis. Thus, the findings from our meta-analysis support the associations of MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms with HCC risk in Chinese population.