Promoter polymorphisms of pri-miR-34b/c are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Numerous studies have focused on the association between miR-34 family members, which are direct p53 targets, and carcinogenesis of many cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to assess whether polymorphisms in the single-nucleotide polymorphism miR-34b/cT>C (rs4938723) and TP53 Arg72Pro (rs1042522) increase the risk of HCC and influence outcome in patients with HCC. Patients and methods: We enrolled 157 HCC patients and 201 cancer-free control subjects from the Korean population. MicroRNA polymorphisms were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: We found that the miR-34b/cTC + CC frequency was significantly higher in HCC patients than in controls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.580; 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 1.029-2.426). The miR-34b/c CC-TP53 Arg/Arg combination significantly increased the risk of HCC (AOR: 13.644; 95% Cl: 1.451-128.301). The SNPs miR-34b/c T>C and TP53 Arg72Pro(G>C) had no influence on survival of HCC patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that loss of the T allele in miR-34b/c T>C, and the miR-34b/c CC-TP53 Arg/Arg combination increases the risk of HCC in the Korean population. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.