In total, 26,336 cases and 44,219 controls from 18 case-control studies were used in this meta-analysis, and significant associations of the CHEK2 I157T variant with cancer susceptibility were found (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.19-1.63; p<0.0001), breast cancer (OR=1.58, 95% CI=1.42-1.75, p<0.00001) and colorectal cancer (OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.24-2.26, p=0.0008).
We conclude that the I157T mutation increases the risk of colorectal cancer in the population, but that truncating mutations may confer a lower risk or no increase in risk.