Meta-analysis of the association between CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-ε polymorphism and the risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CEBPE rs2239633 polymorphism has been implicated in susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) risk. Several studies investigated the association of this polymorphism with ALL in different populations. However, the results were contradictory. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between CEBPE rs2239633 polymorphism and ALL susceptibility. Databases including Pubmed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wangfang were searched to find relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of associations. A random-effects model was used. A significant association was found between CEBPE rs2239633 polymorphism and childhood ALL (OR = 1.19, 95% CI, 1.11-1.28). In the subgroup analyses by ethnicity, the significant association was found among Caucasians (OR = 1.19, 95% CI, 1.09-1.30) and Hispanics (OR = 1.39, 95% CI, 1.18-1.63), but not in Asians (OR = 1.05, 95% CI, 0.90-1.22). In the subgroup analysis by histology, B-cell ALL risk (OR = 1.29, 95% CI, 1.15-1.44) and B hyperdiploid ALL risk (OR = 1.84, 95% CI, 1.40-2.43) were increased. Our results suggested that CEBPE rs2239633 polymorphism conferred a risk factor of childhood ALL.