The Association Between rs11671784 Polymorphism in pre-miR-27a and Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), especially adenocarcinoma, is the most common type in which the most important cases are related with KRAS or EGFR mutations or EGFR amplifications. MicroRNAs are the most remarkable controlling agents of gene expression. MiR-27a has two binding sites in 3'-untranslated-region of EGFR and three in KRAS. Moreover, it has a dual role in types of cancer and the expression decreases in some neoplasms, including the NSCLC. Hsa-mir-27a is located in the mir-23a~27a~24-2 cluster and the expression of these miRNAs is performed simultaneously but the down-regulation of miR-27a occurs independently. Polymorphisms in pre-miRNA can affect the miRNA processing and expression. In the current case-control study, we investigated the association between rs11671784 within the loop region of pre-miR-27a and lung cancer susceptibility. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 110 healthy subjects and 70 patients using the salt procedure. After finishing the primer design, the genotype of rs11671784 was determined using the RFLP-PCR technique. A statistical analysis was performed on the Power Marker, SPSS version-23 software and the SISA website.The present study examines the correlation between rs11671784 and lung cancer for the first time, which proved that the presence of the T allele at the polymorphism position can reduce the risk of lung cancer up to 6.7 times (OR=0.15, p=0.039), likely because of influencing the processing of miR-27a. These results suggest that rs11671784 could be used as a resistance marker for the genetic susceptibility to lung cancer among the Isfahan population.