Association of polymorphisms in the 3′UTR of ErbB2 with the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma

ErbB2 can act as an oncogene and its related signaling server as essential roles in tumorigenesis. Polymorphisms in ErbB2 have been reported related to bad prognosis of with human cancer, however the association between SNP in 3'UTR of ErbB2 so far. In this study rs113054794 and rs76322625 located in the 3'UTR of ErbB2 was selected to evaluate its relationship with the risk of HCC among Chinese population. In this study, SNP of rs113054794 in the 3'-UTR of ErbB2 was involved as a risk factor in the occurrence of HCC. SNP rs113054794 could be regulated by miR-221-5p which caused an up-regulation of ErbB2 in patients. Furthermore, the carriers of CA and AA genotype in rs113054794 presented poor differentiation, a big tumor size as well as the high probability of metastasis. In conclusion, our findings have shown that the SNP rs113054794 in ErbB2 3'-UTR, through disrupting the regulatory role of miR-221-5p in ErbB2 expression, which might act as a promotion factor in the pathogenesis of HCC.