In the stratified analysis, the rs10877887 variant genotype was significantly associated with a decreased cancer risk in head and neck cancer (TC compared with TT: <i>P</i>=0.017; odds ratio (OR) = 0.81; TC + CC compared with TT: <i>P</i>=0.020; OR = 0.82).
Our analysis revealed that HOTAIR rs920778, uc003opf.1 rs11752942, and miR-196a2 rs11614913 were related to HNC susceptibility, while let-7 rs10877887, miR-124-1rs531564, and miR-608 rs4919510 were considered as protective factors.