Abstract

Background: A number of case-control studies were conducted to investigate the association of angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D) polymorphism with breast cancer. But the results remain controversial. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the association of ACE I/D polymorphism with breast cancer. Method: A comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS and ISI Web of Knowledge databases for studies published up to June 01, 2018 was performed. Summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Publication bias of literatures was evaluated using funnel plots and Egger’s test. Results: A total of 20 studies including 2846 breast cancer cases 9,299 controls meeting the predefined criteria were involved in the meta-analysis. Overall, the ACE I/D polymorphisms was significantly associated with breast cancer under the allele model (I vs. D: OR= 0.803, 95% CI 0.647-0.996, p=0.046), the homozygote model (II vs. DD: OR= 0.662, 95% CI 0.462-0.947, p=0.024), the heterozygote model (ID vs. DD: OR= 0.707, 95% CI 0.528-0.946, p=0.020), the dominant model (II+ID vs. DD: OR= 0.691, 95% CI 0.507-0.941, p=0.019). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, a significant association was found among Asian and Caucasian populations, but not among mixed populations. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that ACE I/D polymorphism may be associated with increased risk of breast cancer, especially among Asian and Caucasians. However, well-designed studies with larger sample size and more ethnic groups are needed to further validate the results.