Lack of Association between the COMT rs4680 Polymorphism and Ovarian Cancer Risk: Evidence from a Meta-analysis of 3,940 Individuals

Abstract

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is involved in estrogen metabolism and is vital to estrogen-induced carcinogenesis, including that of ovarian cancer. Although many recent epidemiologic studies have investigated associations between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk, the results remain inconclusive. We therefore performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimate of associations. Systematic searches of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Chinese Biomedicine databases were undertaken to retrieve eligible studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled to assess the strength of the association. In total, 8 case-control studies involving 1,293 cases and 2,647 controls were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, the results showed no evidence of significant association between the COMT rs4680 polymorphism and ovarian cancer risk in any of the assessed genetic models. Subgroup analyses by ethnicity also did not reveal any significant association in any genetic model (p>0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the COMT rs4680 polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of ovarian cancer.

Association between the COMT Val158Met polymorphism and risk of cancer: evidence from 99 case–control studies

“…However, studies on renal, endometrial, lung, liver, ovarian, colon cancers, and other cancer types have suggested null associations. In line with most previous meta-analyses for single cancer, Zhang et al, 111 Du et al 102 and Mao et al 121 have reported that the COMT Val158Met polymorphism may not contribute to the risk of prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, or breast cancer in any of the assessed genetic model. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, no significant associations were found in African, Caucasian, and mixed populations.…”

“…Meta-analysis is a powerful statistical tool to pool different studies to overcome deficiencies such as small sample size and to provide more reliable results. Although some previous meta-analyses have reported the association between COMT Val158Met polymorphism and ovarian cancer (up to eight case–control studies included), 102 , 103 breast cancer (up to 56 case–control studies included), 65 , 104 – 108 endometrial cancer (up to seven case–control studies included), 103 , 109 , 110 prostate cancer (up to six case–control studies included), 111 – 113 and lung cancer (evidence from six case–control studies), 114 only specific cancer types or race populations were included, which led to their limitations. To update the results of previous meta-analyses and to provide a more precise assessment of the association between COMT Val158Met and cancer risk, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis by including the most recent and relevant articles.…”

Analysis of the Association of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Gene Promoter (rs1799750) Polymorphism and Risk of Ovarian Cancer

“…1,2 In 2008, there were an estimated 225,500 new cases and 140,200 deaths worldwide. 3 As is the case for other malignancies, ovarian cancer is a multifactorial disease: genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors play significant roles in its development.…”