This meta-analysis aimed to assess the association of common TLR9 and TLR2 gene polymorphisms (TLR9 1486 T/C, TLR9 G2848A, and TLR2-196 to -174 del/ins) with cervical cancer risk. Studies were searched in Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, and CNKI until December 2017. Both fixed-effects and random-effects models were applied to combine odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). A total of 11 studies including 7856 participants were identified. The pooled estimation revealed an increased risk of cervical cancer in Caucasian subjects carrying the C allele of the TLR9 1486 T/C polymorphism (OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.11-1.92, p = 0.007), while there was a decreased risk in Mixed subjects carrying the C allele (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.15-0.82, p = 0.016). Concerning the TLR9 G2848A polymorphism, the A allele was associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer in Caucasians (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.02-1.40, p = 0.030), whereas Asian and Mixed subjects showed no significant associations. No significant associations were demonstrated between the TLR2-196 to -174 del/ins polymorphism and cervical cancer. Our findings suggest that the TLR9 1486 T/C and G2848A polymorphisms contribute to cervical cancer risk, but there is no association of the TLR2-196 to -174 del/ins polymorphism with cervical cancer.
Keywords: Cervical cancer; Meta-analysis; Polymorphism; TLR2; TLR9.