Association of EGFR and EGF gene polymorphisms with cervical cancer in a case–control study and cross-cancer meta-analysis

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) genes are associated with cancers in diverse populations; However, the roles of these genes in CC are uncertain. Associations between these SNPs and CC risk, as well as the risk of pathological type and clinical stage, were analysed. On thebasis of our data, a cross-cancer meta-analysis was performed to assess the roles of nine SNPs of the EGFR and EGF genes in cancer susceptibility. Finally, SNP‒SNP interactions were analysed in the present study. Our data showed that the potential SNP‒SNP interaction between EGFR and EGF may be associated with CC development in Chinese Han individuals. The meta-analysis indicated that these SNPs in EGFR and EGF may be associated with cancer risk, particularly in Asians. Cross-cancer SNP‒SNP interaction analysis demonstrated that the 9-SNP model exhibited significant synergistic effects in predicting cancer risk.