Effects of polymorphisms on hepatocellular carcinoma development and clinical characteristics.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major malignancy of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) was suggested as a marker for vascular invasive HCC. This study investigated the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to evaluate HCC susceptibility and clinicopathological characteristics. In this study, real-time polymerase chain reaction was applied to analyze five SNPs of rs1990172, rs975263, rs3095007, rs4721888, and rs3735615 in 378 patients with HCC and 1199 cancer-free controls. The results showed that in 151 HCC patients among smokers who carried rs1990172 "CA + AA" variants had a lower risk of developing a large tumor (odds ratio [OR] = 0.375, = 0.026), more advanced clinical stage ([OR] = 0.390, =0.032), and vascular invasion ([OR] = 0.198, = 0.034). In 137 HCC patients among drinkers who carried rs4721888 "GC + CC" variants had a higher risk to develop vascular invasion ([OR] = 3.780, = 0.009). Further analyses revealed a statistical significance of aberrant AST/ALT ratio in HCC patients with rs975263 "AG+GG" variants before adjustment of age and alcohol drinking. In conclusion, our results suggested that the SNPs rs1990172, rs4721888, and rs975263 are involved in HCC progression and clinical characteristics. polymorphisms may serve as a marker or a predictor to evaluate HCC progression and prognosis.