Association of microRNA-3144 variant with the susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma

Increasing studies suggest that microRNAs, a new group of small non-coding molecules, regulate the expression of their target genes and play some roles in cancers. Thus, it is hypothesized that the genetic variants of microRNAs could contribute to the susceptibility to cancers. In this study, the association between rs67106263 in microRNA-3144 and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was explored in a large-scaled case–control population based on MassARRAY technology. It was discovered that compared with the carriers of wide-type GG genotype and heterozygote GA genotype of microRNA-3144, the significantly increased risk of HCC was observed in the subjects with the homozygote variant AA (adjusted odds ratio = 1.285, 95 % confidence interval = 1.004–1.643, P = 0.046). Additionally, the variant was also associated with the expression of alpha fetoprotein (AFP), which is the diagnostic marker for HCC. Our findings suggest for the first time that rs67106263 may play some roles in the risk of HCC, expecting future molecular researches to elucidate the possible mechanisms behind these results.