Effects of Common Polymorphism rs11614913 in Hsa-miR-196a2 on Lung Cancer Risk

BACKGROUND Emerging evidence suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in microRNA-coding genes may participate in the pathogenesis of lung cancer by altering the expression of tumor-related microRNAs. Several studies were investigated in recent years to evaluate the association between hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and increased/decreased lung cancer risk. In the present study, we performed a meta-analysis to systematically summarize the possible association. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We performed a meta-analysis of 4 case-control studies that included 2219 lung-cancer cases and 2232 cancer-free controls. We evaluated the strength of the association using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In the overall analysis, it was found that the rs11614913 polymorphism significantly elevated the risk of lung cancer (CC versus (vs.) TT OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.07-1.49, P = 0.007; CC/CT vs. TT: OR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.98-1.29, P = 0.007; C vs. T: OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.03-1.22, P = 0.008). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, statistically significantly increased cancer risk was found among Asians (CC vs. TT: OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.10-1.54, P = 0.003; CT vs. TT: OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.01-1.34, P = 0.039; CC vs. CT/TT: OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.41, P = 0.012; C vs. T: OR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.05-1.25, P = 0.002). For Europeans, a significant association with lung cancer risk was found in recessive model (CC vs. CT/TT: OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.40-0.98, P = 0.040). No publication bias was found in this study. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our meta-analysis suggests that the rs11614913 polymorphism is significant associated with the increased risk of lung cancer, especially in Asians. Besides, the C allele of rs11614913 polymorphism may contribute to increased lung cancer risk.