To explore the role of polymorphisms of p53-related genes in etiology of oral cancer, we investigated joint effects of seven putatively functional polymorphisms of p53 (codon 72 Arg/Pro), p73 (4/14 GC/AT), murine double minute 2 gene (MDM2; A2164G and T2580G) and MDM4 (rs11801299 G > A, rs10900598 G > T and rs1380576 C > G) on risk of human papillomavirus (HPV)16-associated oral cancer in a case-control study with 325 cases and 335 cancer-free controls.
In the current meta-analysis which used the quantitative data synthesis for the first time, our study demonstrated that p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism together with HPV infection might jointly alter an individual's susceptibility to the risk of oral cancer.