Functional Variants in MicroRNAs (rs895819, rs11614913 and rs2910164) Are Associated with Susceptibility and Clinicopathological Features in Mexican Patients with Colorectal Cancer

miRNAs are non-coding RNAs participating actively in the post-translational regulation of oncogenes, tumor suppressor, and DNA repair genes implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aims to examine the association of the variants miR-27a (rs895819 A > G), miR-196a2 (rs11614913 T > G) and miR-146a (rs2910164 C > G) in Mexican CRC patients.

DNA samples from 183 patients and 186 healthy Mexican subjects were analyzed. Variants were identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methodology. Association was calculated by the odds ratio (OR) and adjusted by the Bonferroni test.

Patients carrying the G/G genotype of the rs895819 variant in the miR-27a gene showed an increased risk of CRC (19% vs 12%, P = 0.013). A similar tendency was noticed for patients younger than 50 years carrying A/G (48% vs 41%, P = 0.014). The A/G genotype in TNM stages I + II (55.7% vs 40.8%, P = 0.011) and tumor location in the colon (69.5 vs 40.8%, P = 0.001) were also increased. For the variant rs11614913 of the miR-196a2 gene, carriers of the C/C genotype showed an increased risk of CRC (32% vs 22%, P = 0.009). This genotype was more frequent in TNM stage III + IV (36.8% vs 22.5%, P = 0.007) and the tumor had a more recurrent location in the rectum (31.6% vs 22.5%, P = 0.013). The rs2910164 variant of the miR-146a gene was found to have no significant risk associations.

Our results reveal that the rs895819 variant in miR-27a and rs11614913 in miR-196a2 have a substantial impact on the development of CRC.