The Effect of miR-34a and miR-34b Polymorphisms on Clinical-Pathological Characteristics of Renal Cell Carcinoma

MicroRNAs can regulate expression of gene by binding to 3'-UTRs (untranslated region) of mRNAs. Genetic changes in miRNA binding domains affect susceptibility to various diseases, including cancer. This research presented to determine the impact of pri-miR-34b T> C rs4938723 and miR34a A>C rs6577555 polymorphism in renal cell carcinoma.

This case-control study has been done on 100 patients with RCC and 100 healthy matched control in two referral urology centers in Tehran, Iran. The miRNA-34a/b polymorphisms mentioned in the genomes of healthy individuals and patients with RCC were studied by the tetra arms PCR method. Then statistical studies were performed by SPSS software, using the independent sample T-test and Chi-square. A P-value lower than 0.05 is significant.

The connection between pri-miR-34b T>C and miR34a A>C variants were considered according to age, sex, tumor site, metastasis site, tumor stage, and tumor grade in this study. No statistically significant difference existed between the two study groups regarding gender and age. Smoking and alcohol consumption were significantly higher in RCC patients, so we suggest them as the main risk factors. The rs6577555 polymorphism showed a significant association with the classification of tumor type (P-value=0.047), but rs4938723 SNP did not correlate with the tumor type.

The findings indicated that rs4938723 and rs6577555 polymorphism might be a risk for predisposition to RCC in the population of Iran. More research with greater sample sizes and various ethnicities must approve our findings.