In summary, variant alleles of miR-146a rs2910164 alleles may have an association with the increased risk of SCCHN in Chinese patients, and these associations differed based on tumor site.
However, no significant association was detected between the other three SNPs (miR-149 rs2292832, miR-146a rs2910164, and miR-608 rs4919510) and HNSCC risk.
However, in stratified analysis, we found that either the rs2910164 C allele or the CC genotype was protective against bladder cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer, whereas it was a risk factor for papillary thyroid carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).
The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible influence of the pre-miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism on the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC).
The authors genotyped 4 common polymorphisms in pre-miRNAs: Homo sapiens miRNA 146a (hsa-mir-146a) (reference SNP 2910164 [rs2910164]; guanine to cytosine [G→C]), hsa-mir-149 (rs2292832; guanine to thymine [G→T]), hsa-mir-196a2 (rs11614913; C→T), and hsa-mir-499 (rs3746444; adenine to guanine [A→G]) in 1109 patients with SCCHN (cases) and in 1130 cancer-free patients (controls) in a non-Hispanic white population that was frequency-matched by age and sex.