Association study of microRNA polymorphisms with hepatocellular carcinoma in Korean population

Background: Recent studies have suggested that common genetic polymorphisms alter the processing of microRNA (miRNA) and may be associated with the development and progression of cancer. Patients and methods: The association of miRNA polymorphisms with HCC survival was analyzed in 159 HCC patients and 201 controls by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: The risk of HCC was significantly lower for the miR-499A>G, AG + GG in HCC patients (AOR = 0.603, 95% CI = 0.370-0.984) and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC patients (AOR = 0.561, 95% CI 0.331-0.950). In addition, the risk of HCC was significantly lower for the miR-149C>T, CT and CT + CC in HCC patients (CT; AOR = 0.542, 95% CI = 0.332-0.886, CT + CC; AOR = 0.536, 95% CI = 0.335-0.858) and HBV-related HCC patients (CT: AOR = 0.510, 95% CI 0.305-0.854, CT + CC: AOR = 0.496, 95% CI 0.302-0.813). The miR-149C>T polymorphism was also associated with survival rate of HCC patients in OKUDA II stage. Conclusions: miR-149C>T and miR-499A>G were associated with HBV-related HCC. Further studies on larger populations will need to be conducted to confirm these results. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.