Analysis of the association of HOTAIR single nucleotide polymorphism (rs920778) and risk of cervical cancer

We recently demonstrated that overexpression of HOTAIR (Hox transcript antisense intergenic RNA) was associated with tumor progression and radio-resistance in human cervical cancer. Considering the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs920778 (C>T) could influence HOTAIR expression and cancer predisposition in other malignancies, we herein investigated the association between rs920778 status and cervical cancer susceptibility in a Chinese population. Using the specific TaqMan PCR assay, we genotyped rs920778 in 215 cervical cancer patients and 430 age-matched healthy controls. As shown in our data, TT genotype of rs920778 was significantly correlated with the upregulation of HOTAIR (p=0.008). Compared with the healthy control, TT genotype and T allele notably indicated a much higher risk of cervical cancer [TT genotype: odds ratio (OR)=2.186, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.378-3.466, p=0.003; T allele: OR=1.556, 95% CI=1.221-1.981]. In addition, we also found that the TT genotype of rs920778 was correlated with advanced tumor stage (p=0.039), highly histological grade (p=0.013), lympho node metastasis (p<0.001) and positive infection of high risk HPV (p<0.001). Among the patients who underwent concurrent chemo-radiotherapy, TT genotype carriers present notably resistance to the combination of EBRT+ICBT+cisplatin (p=0.023). In conclusion, we firstly reported that TT genotype of HOTAIR rs920778 was significantly associated with the cervical cancer susceptibility. Moreover, the TT genotype of rs920778 might be a potent prognostic marker in cervical cancer patients.