A significant association was found between VEGF +936C/T polymorphism and the risk of breast cancer in overall populations under five models (T vs. C: OR = 0.83, 95 % CI = 0.73–0.94, P = 0.002; TT vs. CC: OR = 0.74, 95 % CI = 0.61–0.91, P = 0.004, Fig. 1a; TC vs. CC: OR = 0.83, 95 % CI = 0.71–0.96, P = 0.014; TT vs. CC/CT: OR = 0.77, 95 % CI = 0.62–0.94, P = 0.010; TT/TC vs. CC: OR = 0.82, 95 % CI = 0.72–0.95, P = 0.006). Here, VEGFA is linked to breast cancer.