Pri-miR-34b/c rs4938723 Polymorphism is Associated with Decreased Risk and Better Prognosis for Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. miR-34 induces changes of its downstream genes and plays a key role in altering the apoptotic cycle and pathways of downstream cells and therefore influences carcinogenesis. The present study investigated whether the single nucleotide polymorphism rs4938723T > C in the promoter of region of miR-34b/c may increase the risk of CRC and influence outcome in patients with CRC. We enrolled 1078 CRC patients and 1175 cancer-free controls subjects from the Chinese population. miR-34b/c rs4938723T > C polymorphisms were genotyped using a TaqMan PCR method. We found that subjects carrying rs4938723CT/CC genotypes have significantly decreased risk of CRC (adjusted odds ratios (AOR) = 0.75, 95% CI (0.63–0.90) for CT vs.TT; AOR = 0.61, 95% CI (0.46–0.83) for CC vs. TT and AOR = 0.73,95% CI (0.61-0.86) for CT/CC vs. TT) and a significant increased median survival time (MST) compared with those with TT genotypes (MST = 96.500; 75.883 and 71.370 months for CT, CC and CT/CC respectively vs. MST = 54.300 months for TT, p <0.0001). Stratified analysis by both life style and clinicopathological risks revealed that subjects carrying rs4938723CT/CC genotypes were remained significantly associated with increased survival and low risk of CRC compared with those with TT genotypes in all subgroup (all p <0.05). Similar observation was also reported for the prognostic value of rs4938723TC/CC genotypes across all subgroups. These findings indicate that the miR-34b/c rs4938723T > C polymorphism is an independent variable and associated with a decreased risk of CRC in Chinese population. This study provides evidence of the protective effects of rs4938723CT/CC genotypes in the development of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]