The impact of pri-miR-218 rs11134527 on the risk and prognosis of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

MicroRNA-218 (miR-218) acts as a tumor suppressor in numerous types of cancer by regulation of the expression of target genes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether polymorphisms in miR-218 LAMB3 pathway were associated with the risk and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Pri-mir-218 rs11134527 and LAMB3 rs2566 were genotyped in ESCC patients and 745 controls to assess their associations with cancer risk and overall survival. Pri-mir-218 rs11134527 was significantly associated with a decreased risk of ESCC under codominant, recessive and additive models. Although there was a significant association between rs11134527 and better survival of ESCC patients under codominant, recessive and additive models, the association disappeared after adjustment for TNM and LNM. However, further stratified analysis revealed that the association remained significant in patients with TNM stages I and II or non-LNM. Our data suggest that pri-miR-218 rs11134527 may contribute to the genetic susceptibility and prognosis for ESCC in Chinese Han population.