BackgroundGenome-wide association studies have identified that genetic variants in 8q24 confer susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC). Recently, a novel lncRNA (PRNCR1) that located in the 8q24 was discovered. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the lncRNAs may influence the process of splicing and stability of mRNA conformation, resulting in the modification of its interacting partners. We hypothesized that SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 may be related to the risk of CRC.MethodsWe conducted a case–control study and genotyped five tag SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 in 908 subjects including 313 cases with CRC and 595 control subjects using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay.ResultsIn overall analyses, we found that the rs13252298 and rs1456315 were associated with significantly decreased risks of CRC. In stratification analyses, we found that CRC patients carrying the rs1456315G were likely to have a tumor size of greater than 5 cm (G vs. A: adjusted OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.10-2.23). Additionally, patients with the rs7007694C and rs16901946G had decreased risks to develop poorly differentiated CRC, whereas patients with the rs1456315G had an increased risk to develop poorly differentiated CRC.ConclusionThese findings suggest that SNPs in the lncRNA PRNCR1 may contribute to susceptibility to CRC.

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MiR-143/145 is down-regulated in cervical cancer, which may serve as a tumor suppressor by targeting KRAS and Ras-responsive element-binding protein (RREB1). Activated KRAS leads to down-regulation of miR-143/145 transcription in a RREB1-dependent manner, establishing a miR-143/145-KRAS-RREB1 feedback loop. A polymorphism rs4705343C/T in the promoter of miR-143/145 might influence the binding of TATA-binding protein. We hypothesized that the miR-143/145 rs4705343 and KRAS rs712 may be related to the occurrence of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). In this study, we genotyped the 2 polymorphisms in 415 patients with CSCC and 504 controls using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism. The promoter activities were measured by the Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System. We found that the rs4705343TC genotype was associated with an increased risk of CSCC (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–1.80). The significantly increased association was also observed in a dominant genetic model (adjusted OR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.01–1.72). Combined analysis showed that individuals carrying the genotypes of rs4705343 TC/CC and rs712GT/TT had a 1.47-fold increased risk of CSCC (adjusted OR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.01–2.15). By using multifactor dimensionality reduction software method, we identified a significant interaction between the miR-143/145 rs4705343 and KRAS rs712. Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay showed that the luciferase activity was significantly lower in cells transfected with the rs4705343C allele than that of the rs4705343T allele. These findings indicate that miR-143/145 rs4705343 and KRAS rs712 may contribute to the etiology of CSCC in Chinese women.