Hsa-miR-196a2 Rs11614913 polymorphism contributes to cancer susceptibility: Evidence from 15 case-control studies

Abstract

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous, small and noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression by suppressing translation or degrading mRNAs. Recently, many studies investigated the association between hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and cancer risk, which showed inconclusive results. Methodology/Principal Findings: We conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies that included 9,341 cancer cases and 10,569 case-free controls. We assessed the strength of the association, using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, individuals with the TC/CC genotypes were associated with higher cancer risk than those with the TT genotype (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.03-1.34, P<0.001 for heterogeneity test). In the stratified analyses, we observed that the CC genotype might modulate breast cancer risk (OR = 1.11, 95%CI = 1.01-1.23, Pheterogeneity = 0.210) and lung cancer risk (OR = 1.25, 95%CI = 1.06-1.46, Pheterogeneity = 0.958), comparing with the TC/TT genotype. Moreover, a significantly increased risk was found among Asian populations in a dominant model (TC/CC versus TT, OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.07-1.43, Pheterogeneity = 0.006). Conclusions: These findings supported that hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism may contribute to the susceptibility of cancers. © 2011 Chu et al.