BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have evaluated the relationship between RNASEL gene polymorphisms (rs486907 G>A and rs627928 T>G) and the risk of cancer. However, many of the results have been controversial. To explore the role of RNASEL gene polymorphisms in prostate cancer, we carried out the present meta-analysis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The qualified articles were collected from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CNKI, and WanFang databases to August 2018. A total 23 articles with 40 studies were incorporated into our analysis.

RESULTS: Our data show that rs486907 was not associated with the risk of prostate cancer in any populations. Nevertheless, rs627928 was reported to promote the development of prostate cancer (T vs. G: OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.01–1.15; TT+TG vs. GG: OR=1.14, 95% CI=1.03–1.25) in allele and recessive models in overall populations. Stratified analyses showed that similar results were obtained in white populations.

CONCLUSIONS: We report the effect of rs627928 on the development of prostate cancer and confirm that rs486907 is not involved in the risk of prostate cancer in the current meta-analysis. However, research in larger populations is needed to validate our conclusions.

Keywords: Anus Neoplasms, Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational, Ribonuclease, Pancreatic, Alleles, Asians, Case-Control Studies, Endoribonucleases, Gene Frequency, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Odds Ratio, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prostatic Neoplasms, Risk Factors