Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) –308G/A Polymorphism and the Risk of Multiple Myeloma: A Meta-analysis of Pooled Data from 12 Case-control Studies

Objective: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) is an important cytokine involved in inflammation, immune response and other biological processes. The association between polymorphism -308G/A in its promoter and the risk of multiple myeloma (MM) is not clear. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify this question.

Methods: Twelve eligible studies, which included 2,204 MM cases and 3,478 controls, were enrolled in our meta-analysis by searching the PubMed, CNKI, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar databases up to December 2018. The effect of polymorphism -308G/A on MM risk was evaluated by calculating the pooled odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI). Furthermore, the Q-test and I2 statistical analyses were used to estimate the degree of heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the robustness of the meta-analysis results. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s test and visual inspection of a funnel plot.

Results: In the dominant model, -308G/A polymorphism was associated with reduced MM risk (OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.65-0.97), and it also demonstrated a significant protective effect with a pooled OR of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.68-0.99) in the Caucasian subgroup. Because of the limited number of individual studies with AA genotype carriers, only eight studies were included in the recessive model, and no significant difference was observed. Moreover, the meta-analysis of the allele frequency demonstrated that the A allele has a protective effect against MM risk with a pooled OR of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.69-0.99). Sensitivity analysis suggested that the synthesized effect size was not influenced by any individual study. Moreover, the Egger’s test statistical analysis suggested that the publication bias was not obvious in the present analysis.

Conclusion: Overall, the -308G/A polymorphism was associated with reduced MM risk in the dominant model and allele frequency. Further investigation is needed to gain better insight.