A common genetic variation in the promoter of miR-107 is associated with gastric adenocarcinoma susceptibility and survival.

Background: Global miRNA expression profile has been widely used to characterize human cancers. It is well established that genetic variants in miRNAs can modulate miRNA biogenesis and disease risk.

Methods: Genome-wide miRNA microarray was employed for assessment of miRNA expression profile of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC). The variants of significantly dysregulated miRNA were genotyped in test (715 cases and 804 controls) and validation (940 cases and 1050 controls) subject sets.

Results: MiRNA microarray revealed that 12 miRNAs including miR-107 significantly dysregulated in GAC tissues. The sequencing of the promoter of miR-107 identified 3 SNPs (rs11185777, rs78591545, and rs2296616) with minor allele frequency (MAF)>5%. Analyzing their association with GAC risk and prognosis revealed that the C allele of rs2296616 (T>C) was significantly associated with the decreased risk of GAC among the test, validation and combined sets (TC/CC vs. TT, adjusted OR=0.39, 95% CI=0.31-0.49 for the combined set). However, the C allele was related to an unfavorable prognosis of Cardia GAC (CGAC) (adjusted HR=1.49, 95% CI=1.01-2.20). In vivo evidence showed that the individuals with the rs2296616C allele had lower miR-107 expression compared with the homozygous T allele carriers.

Conclusion: miR-107 is dysregulated in GAC pathogenesis and the SNP rs2296616 may play a role in the process.