A Functional Polymorphism in miRNA-196a2 Is Associated with Colorectal Cancer Risk in a Chinese Population

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in microRNAs (miRNAs) may alter miRNA expression levels or processing and, thus, may contribute to cancer development. We hypothesized that miRNA-196a2 polymorphism is associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). In a case-control study of 573 patients with CRC and 588 cancer-free controls frequency matched by age and sex, we genotyped the functional polymorphism rs11614913 (T>C) and assessed its association with the risk of CRC in a Chinese population. We found that the CT/CC genotypes were associated with a significantly increased risk of CRC (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-1.88), compared with the TT genotype. Further, the polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of patients with advanced stage tumor (Dukes C and D) (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.11-2.46). Our results suggest that the functional polymorphism rs11614913 in miRNA-196a2 is involved in the etiology of CRC and, thus, may be a marker for genetic susceptibility to CRC.