The association between hsa-miR-499 T>C polymorphism and cancer risk: A meta-analysis

MicroRNAs regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and were involved in diverse biological and pathological processes. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) which is located in the pre-miRNA may affect the processing and then influence the expression of mature miRNA. Previous studies yielded conflicting results as to the association of a common polymorphism in pre-miRNAs (i.e. hsa-miR-499 rs3746444) with various diseases. Therefore, here we performed a meta-analysis to address the association between this polymorphism and cancer risks. A total of twenty studies involving 10,584 cases and 12,414 controls were retrieved based on PubMed. No significant association was found either in cancers and other diseases in all genetic models. And then in the stratified analysis by ethnicity, significantly increased risks were found in Asians (OR=1.11; 95% CI=1.00–1.23 for C vs. T; OR=1.16; 95% CI=1.00–1.36 for TC vs. TT; OR=1.15; 95%CI=1.01–1.31 for TC/CC vs. TT), but not in Caucasians in all comparison models tested. Our meta-analysis suggested that polymorphism of hsa-miR-499 rs3746444 T>C was not associated with the increased susceptibility to cancers and other diseases. ► The association between miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancers was not found. ► This association was not found in other diseases. ► The significantly increased risks were found in Asians but not in Caucasians.