Association between polymorphisms in long non-coding RNA PRNCR1 in 8q24 and risk of colorectal cancer

Background: Genome-wide association studies have identified that genetic variants in 8q24 confer susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC). Recently, a novel lncRNA (PRNCR1) that located in the 8q24 was discovered. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the lncRNAs may influence the process of splicing and stability of mRNA conformation, resulting in the modification of its interacting partners. We hypothesized that SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 may be related to the risk of CRC. Methods: We conducted a case-control study and genotyped five tag SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 in 908 subjects including 313 cases with CRC and 595 control subjects using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. Results: In overall analyses, we found that the rs13252298 and rs1456315 were associated with significantly decreased risks of CRC. In stratification analyses, we found that CRC patients carrying the rs1456315G were likely to have a tumor size of greater than 5 cm (G vs. A: adjusted OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.10-2.23). Additionally, patients with the rs7007694C and rs16901946G had decreased risks to develop poorly differentiated CRC, whereas patients with the rs1456315G had an increased risk to develop poorly differentiated CRC. Conclusion: These findings suggest that SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 may contribute to susceptibility to CRC.