On the basis of eligible 49 case-control studies with a total of 23490 cancer cases and 27168 controls, our meta-analysis comprehensively evaluated the association between the ERCC5 Asp1104 His polymorphism and risk of different types of cancers, and we did not find statistical evidence for such an association in the recessive genetic models as shown in the XP syndrome. This evidence concerns the gene ERCC5 and cancer.