No abstract

The miR-34 family members are direct transcriptional targets of tumor suppressor p53, and loss of miR-34 function can impair p53-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. A potentially functional SNP rs4938723 (T > C) was found in the promoter region of pri-miR-34b/c (423 bp from the transcription start site), located in the CpG island and might affect transcription factor GATA binding and therefore pri-miR-34b/c expression. In our study, we hypothesized that SNPs miR-34b/c rs4938723 and TP53 Arg72Pro may independently or jointly contribute to primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility. We then genotyped the 2 SNPs in a case-control study of 501 patients with primary HCC and 548 cancer-free controls in a Chinese population. We observed that the variant genotypes of miR-34b/c rs4938723 were associated with significantly increased HCC risks compared with the wild-type TT genotype (adjusted OR 5 1.37, 95% CI 51.06-1.78 for TC; OR 5 1.53, 95% CI 5 1.02-2.31 for CC and OR 5 1.40, 95% CI 5 1.10-1.80 for TC/CC). Furthermore, we found a significant interaction between alcohol drinking and SNP rs4938723 on HCC risk (p 5 0.05 for multiplicative and p 5 0.01 for additive interaction). However, we did not find any main effect of TP53 Arg72Pro on HCC risk in this population. These findings indicate that the potentially functional SNP rs4938723 in the promoter region of pri-miR-34b/c may contribute to the susceptibility of HCC in this Chinese population.Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The distribution of HCC is imbalance throughout the world, and 82% of the cases (and the deaths) are estimated in developing countries (55% in China alone). 1The major risk factors for HCC are chronic infections with the hepatitis B or C viruses, exposure to dietary aflatoxin B1 and alcohol consumption, 2 with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection of particular interest, because of its coherent distribution with the HCC prevalence.

• GS had relatively higher correlation with tumour D than ADCs. • Difference of histogram D among two-grade tumours was statistically significant. • D yielded better individual features in demonstrating tumour grade than ADC. • D* and f failed to determine tumour grade of PCa.