Assessment of STAT4 Variants and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Latin Americans and Europeans

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The STAT4 rs7574865 genetic variant has been associated with an increased risk of developing HCC in Asian populations. However, this association has not been studied in Latin America and is poorly assessed in European populations. This case-control study investigated the association between STAT4 rs7574865 and HCC risk in these populations. We evaluated DNA samples from seven medical institutions across six Latin American countries and one Dutch institution in 1060 individuals (344 HCC and 716 controls). STAT4 rs7574865 SNP was genotyped using TaqMan-genotyping assay and analyzed using logistic regression. We found no significant association between the homozygous risk allele (G) of STAT4 and HCC development in either population, with odds ratios (OR) for GG versus TT of 0.85 (CI: 0.48–1.52, p = 0.58) and 0.81 (CI: 0.34–1.93, p = 0.67) for Latin Americans and Europeans respectively. No correlation was found between the risk allele and HCC based on underlying liver disease. However, we found that Latin Americans of European ancestry were more likely to carry the risk allele. Our results suggest that the STAT4 SNP rs7574865 does not influence the risk of developing HCC in Latin American or European populations, highlighting the importance of evaluating genetic risk factors in various ethnic groups and understanding the possible influence of ancestry on the genetic basis of disease.

Impact of self‐reported ancestry on the epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Recently, our team found no significant association between STAT4, TLL1, or MBOAT7 risk alleles and HCC development in Latin America. [7][8][9] Notably, these studies also used self-reported ancestry and found that Europeans and Latin Americans of self-reported European descent had a similar distribution of some risk alleles, suggesting that self-reported ancestry may carry validity in ancestral research. 7,9 In summary, we propose the possibility of ancestry-driven NAFLD and NAFLD-HCC and further cement the importance of genetic diversity inclusion in the study of Latin American populations.…”

“…[7][8][9] Notably, these studies also used self-reported ancestry and found that Europeans and Latin Americans of self-reported European descent had a similar distribution of some risk alleles, suggesting that self-reported ancestry may carry validity in ancestral research. 7,9 In summary, we propose the possibility of ancestry-driven NAFLD and NAFLD-HCC and further cement the importance of genetic diversity inclusion in the study of Latin American populations. However, larger studies including admixture analyses are needed to better understand this interaction.…”