Association Between themiR-146aRs2910164 Polymorphism and Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Susceptibility in an Asian Population

Background:miR-146ahas been demonstrated to be involved in normal hematopoiesis and the pathogenesis of many hematological malignancies by inhibiting the expression of its targets. Rs2910164(G>C) may modify the expression of themiR-146agene, which might influence an individual's predisposition to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, inconsistent findings have been reported on the association between the rs2910164(G>C) polymorphism and the risk of childhood ALL. Methods:A comprehensive meta-analysis was performed to accurately estimate the association between themiR-146ars2910164 polymorphism and childhood ALL among four different genetic models. Results:This meta-analysis included Asian studies with a total of 1,543 patients and 1,816 controls. We observed a significant difference between patients and controls for the additive model (CC vs. GG: OR = 1.598, 95% CI: 1.003-2.545,P= 0.049) using a random effects model. Meanwhile, there was a trend of increased childhood ALL risk in the dominant model (CC + CG vs. GG: OR = 1.501, 95% CI: 0.976-2.307,P= 0.065), recessive model (CC vs. GG + CG: OR = 1.142, 95% CI: 0.946-1.380,P= 0.168) and allele model (C vs. G: OR = 1.217, 95% CI: 0.987-1.500,P= 0.066) between patients and controls. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that themiR-146ars2910164 CC genotype was significantly associated with childhood ALL susceptibility.