MicroRNA biogenesis pathway genes polymorphisms and cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2016-12, Vol.4, p.e2706-e2706, Article e2706
• Main Authors: He, Jieyu, Zhao, Jun, Zhu, Wenbo, Qi, Daxun, Wang, Lina, Sun, Jinfang, Wang, Bei, Ma, Xu, Dai, Qiaoyun, Yu, Xiaojin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Binding sites; Biosynthesis; Bladder cancer; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer genetics; Cancer research; Cancer risk; Colorectal cancer; Development and progression; Disease prevention; Disease susceptibility; Enzymes; Epidemiology; Esophageal cancer; Evidence Based Medicine; Evolution; Gastric cancer; Gene expression; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic diversity; Genetics; Health aspects; Health risk assessment; Lung cancer; Medical research; Meta-analysis; MicroRNA; MicroRNA biogenesis; MicroRNAs; miRNA; Oncology; Proteins; Risk factors; RNA polymerase; Single nucleotide polymorphisms; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Studies
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2706

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may promote the development and progression of human cancers. Therefore, components of the miRNA biogenesis pathway may play critical roles in human cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or mutations in genes involved in the miRNA biogenesis pathway may alter levels of gene expression, affecting disease susceptibility. Results of previous studies on genetic variants in the miRNA biogenesis pathway and cancer risk were inconsistent. Therefore, a meta-analysis is needed to assess the associations of these genetic variants with human cancer risk. We searched for relevant articles from PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and CBM through Jun 21, 2016. In total, 21 case-control articles met all of the inclusion criteria for the study. Significant associations were observed between cancer risk and the polymorphism rs417309 G >A (OR 1.22, 95% CI [1.04-1.42]), as well as the polymorphism rs1057035 TT (OR 1.13, 95% CI [1.05-1.22]). These SNPs exhibit high potential as novel diagnostic markers. Future studies with larger sample sizes and more refined analyses are needed to shed more light on these findings.