Polymorphisms in miR-135a-2, miR-219-2 and miR-211 as well as their interaction with cooking oil fume exposure on the risk of lung cancer in Chinese nonsmoking females: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: The associations between microRNAs and lung cancer have received increasing attention. This study assess the association between polymorphisms in miR-135a-2, miR-219-2 and miR-211 genes and the risk of lung cancer, as well as the gene–environment interaction between these polymorphisms and cooking oil fume exposure. METHODS: A case–control study featuring 268 cases and 266 controls was conducted. The associations of miR-135a-2 rs10459194, miR-219-2 rs10988341 and miR-211 rs1514035 polymorphisms with the risk of lung cancer were analyzed. The gene–environment interactions were also reported on both additive and multiplicative scales. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant associations between the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and lung cancer or lung adenocarcinoma. The individuals with both a risk genotype of miRNA SNPs and exposure to a risk factor (cooking oil fumes) were at higher risk of lung cancer than those with only one of these two risk factors (odd ratios of 2.208, 1.285 and 1.813 for miR-135a-2 rs10459194; 2.164, 1.209 and 1.806 for miR-219-2 rs10988341; and 2.122, 1.146 and 1.725 for miR-211 rs1514035, respectively). However, the measures of biological interaction indicate that there was no such interaction between the three SNPs and exposure to cooking oil fumes on an additive scale. Logistic regression models also suggested that the gene–environment interactions were not statistically significant on a multiplicative scale. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant associations between the polymorphisms in miRNAs (miR-26a-1 rs7372209, miR-605 rs2043556 and miR-16-1 rs1022960) and the risk of lung cancer in the Chinese nonsmoking female population. The interactions between these polymorphisms in miRNAs and cooking oil fume exposure were also not statistically significant.