Objective: Recent evidence indicates that dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis is implicated in cancer development and progression. Based on the important role of miRNA biogenesis genes in carcinogenesis, we hypothesized that genetic variations of the miRNA biogenesis genes may modulate susceptibility to cervical cancer.
Methods: We identified three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of of miRNA biogenesis key genes (rs1057035 in DICER, rs3803012 in RAN and rs10773771 in HIWI) and genotyped these SNPs in a case-control study of 1,486 cervical cancer cases and 1,549 cancer-free controls in Chinese women.
Results: Logistic regression analyses showed that no significant associations were observed between the three SNPs and cervical cancer risk [rs3803012 in RAN AG/GG vs. AA adjusted OR =1.104, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.859-1.419; rs1057035 in DICER CT/CC vs. TT adjusted OR =0.962, 95% CI: 0.805-1.149; rs10773771 in HIWI CT/CC vs. TT adjusted OR =0.963, 95% CI: 0.826-1.122].
Conclusions: The findings did not suggest that genetic variants in the 3'-UTR of RAN, DICER and HIWI of miRNA biogenesis genes were associated with the risk of cervical cancer in this Chinese population.
Keywords: cervical cancer; genetic variant; miRNA biogenesis gene.