MicroRNA biogenesis pathway genes polymorphisms and cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may promote the development and progression of human cancers. Therefore, components of the miRNA biogenesis pathway may play criti- cal roles in human cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or mutations in genes involved in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may alter levels of gene expres- sion, affecting disease susceptibility. Results of previous studies on genetic variants in the miRNA biogenesis pathway and cancer risk were inconsistent. Therefore, a meta- analysis is needed to assess the associations of these genetic variants with human can- cer risk. We searched for relevant articles from PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and CBM through Jun 21, 2016. In total, 21 case-control articles met all of the inclusion criteria for the study. Significant associations were observed between cancer risk and the DGCR8 polymorphism rs417309G >A (OR 1.22, 95% CI [1.04-1.42]), as well as the DICER1 polymorphism rs1057035TT (OR 1.13, 95% CI [1.05-1.22]). These SNPs exhibit high potential as novel diagnostic markers. Future studies with larger sample sizes and more refined analyses are needed to shed more light on these findings.