Association between lncRNA H19 (rs217727, rs2735971 and rs3024270) polymorphisms and the risk of bladder cancer in Chinese population

BACKGROUND: The Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 is involved in carcinogenesis, progression, and metastasis. However, the association between genetic variants in H19 and bladder cancer susceptibility has not been reported. This case-control study assessed the association between H19 genetic variants and susceptibility to bladder cancer in a Chinese Han population. METHODS: In this study, 200 patients with bladder cancer and 200 healthy controls were surveyed and compared for frequencies of the genotypes of the H19 gene. Logistic regression analysis and the chi-square test were employed as statistical methods. Odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated to estimate the strength of association between H19 polymorphisms and risk of bladder cancer. RESULTS: We analyzed the frequency of three lncRNA H19 SNPs in 200 bladder cancer patients and 200 healthy controls. Carriers of variant rs217727 heterozygous genotype showed increased bladder cancer risk (P=0.008). Further stratified analyses revealed that the association between bladder cancer risk and variant genotypes of rs217727 was more profound in smokers. Furthermore, decreased risk of invasive bladder cancer was found in carrying rs3024270 CC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided the evidence that rs217727 in H19 was associated with elevated risk of bladder cancer, which may be a potential biomarker for predicting bladder cancer susceptibility. Furthermore, invasive bladder cancer in carrying rs3024270 CC genotype maybe have a good prognosis.