Significant differences (Bonferroni corrected p-valuecor ≤ 0.0197) in the frequency of alleles distribution between all cancer and control subjects were observed for four (rs2736098, rs13281615, rs1219648, rs2981582) out of 16 SNPs.
In the meta-analysis, a borderline significant association between the rs2736098 polymorphism and overall cancer risk was observed (AA vs. GG: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07-1.46; AA vs. AG+GG: OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.06-1.41; additive model: OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02-1.18), and further stratifications demonstrated a moderately increased risk for lung and bladder cancer, Asian ethnicity and hospital-based studies.
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TERT-rs2736098 (C > T) and CLPTM1L-rs401681(C > T) at the 5p15.33 locus are significantly associated with cancer risk as reported in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), but there are no reported studies for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).