Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may influence the protein expression and/or the functional activity of CTLA-4.[12] Previous published studies had reported the association of cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) genetic polymorphisms with the susceptibility to head and neck cancer, but the results remain controversial.[13–16] We therefore will conduct a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between CTLA-4 genetic polymorphisms and head and neck cancer susceptibility. The gene discussed is CTLA4; the disease is head and neck cancer.