Polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) genes and skin cancer risk in European population: a meta-analysis

There have been a few epidemiological studies reporting VDR polymorphisms including Fok1, Bsm1, Apa1 and Taq1 with skin cancer incidence and, therefore, risk. The results, however, are controversial, often due to smaller sample size. Concerning most of the studies were performed on Caucasian population, we conducted this comprehensive analysis to better understand roles of the polymorphisms in skin cancer development among Caucasian population. The results showed that Fok1 polymorphism was associated with an overall significantly increased risk of skin cancer (Ff vs. FF: OR = 1.20, 95 % CI = 1.01–1.44; ff vs. FF: OR = 1.41, 95 % CI = 1.08–1.84; Ff + ff vs. FF: OR = 1.26, 95 % CI = 1.04–1.53). Besides, we found that Taq1 polymorphism could contribute to non-melanoma skin cancer susceptibility (Tt vs. TT: OR = 1.88, 95 % CI = 1.29–2.74; tt vs. TT: OR = 2.00, 95 % CI = 1.22–3.28; Tt + tt vs. TT: OR = 1.92, 95 % CI = 1.35–2.73). We also found that the Apa1 polymorphism is associated with skin cancer development (Aa vs. AA: OR = 1.27, 95 % CI = 1.05–1.53; Aa + aa vs. AA: OR = 1.23, 95 % CI = 1.04–1.47) and NMSC subgroup (Aa vs. AA: OR = 1.72, 95 % CI = 1.51–2.57; Aa + aa vs. AA: OR = 1.50, 95 % CI = 1.03–2.17). No significant association was observed between the Bsm1 polymorphism and skin cancer risk. The current meta-analysis shows that Fok1, Taq1 and Apa1 may be the susceptibility biomarker for skin cancer in Caucasians.