Abstract

Background: DNA repair mechanisms are crucial for sustaining DNA integrity and preventing carcinogenesis. The xeroderma pigmentosum group G (XPG), X-ray repair cross complementing group 2 (XRCC2) and RAD51 are candidate genes for DNA repair pathways. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of 26 studies that assessed the impact of XPG Asp1104His, XRCC2 rs3218536 A/G and RAD51 135G/C polymorphisms on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. This study included 10288 CRC patients and 11885 controls, and odds ratio (OR) with its 95 confidence interval (CI) were used to calculate the strength of association. Results: The results of overall meta-analysis suggested an association between the XPG Asp1104His polymorphism and CRC susceptibility in allele (OR=1.06; 95 CI=1.01-1.12) and heterozygote model (OR=1.16; 95CI=1.02-1.31). In the subgroup analysis based on ethnicity and source of control, we found significantly increased CRC cancer risk in Asians (OR=1.12, 95CI=1.04-1.21) and in hospital-based (OR=1.22, 95CI=1.08-1.38) populations. Moreover, the RAD51 135 G/C polymorphism increased the risk of CRC in total using allele (OR=1.21) and recessive models (OR=1.62). However, XRCC2 rs3218536 A/G was not associated with the risk of CRC in total or in subgroups. Conclusions: According to the results of our meta-analysis, the XPG Asp1104His and RAD51 135 G/C polymorphisms might influence colorectal cancer risk.