In addition, we found that rs2292832 and rs11614913 were associated with risk of HBV infection, viral clearance and cirrhosis+HCC, whereas rs2910164 was associated with proneness to HBV infection, and ability to clear the virus.
The genotype distribution in chronic HBV without either cirrhosis or HCC, relative to chronic HBV patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis or with cirrhosis and HCC revealed that rs12304647 has a protective effect from the development of HCC (odds ratio=0.37, 95% confidence interval=0.15-0.89, P=0.027).
In conclusion, the miR-196a-2 rs12304647 CC genotype had a protective effect against development of HCC in comparison to the AA or AC genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.
A Cox relative hazards model with adjustments for age, gender, HBeAg status, and cirrhosis revealed that rs12304647A>C retained its association with HCC in a codominant model (relative hazards [RH] = 1.14, P = 0.05) and in a recessive model (RH = 1.44, P = 0.03).