Quantitative assessment of polymorphisms in H19 lncRNA and cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 13,392 cases and 18,893 controls

H19 refers to a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that functions as an oncogenic molecule in different cancer cells. Genetic variants of H19 may affect the activity of certain regulatory factors, which subsequently regulate the aberrant expression of H19. This feedback loop might be one of the underlying mechanisms influencing tumour susceptibility and prognosis. Although there have been several recent studies that examined possible links between polymorphisms in H19 and cancer risk, the results have been inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to estimate the associations between H19 polymorphisms (rs2107425, rs2839698 and rs217727) and cancer risk. Ten studies comprising 13,392 cases and 18,893 controls were included in the study. Overall, the variant T allele of rs2107425 correlated with a significantly decreased risk of developing cancer (dominant model: OR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.76–0.98). In addition, a marginally significant association between the rs2839698 and cancer risk was observed (dominant model: OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 0.99–1.20). After stratification for ethnicity, it became apparent that Asians with the variant A allele of rs2839698 exhibited a significantly higher risk of developing cancer (dominant model: OR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.01–1.23). Interestingly, the rs2839698 variant was also significant associated with an increased risk of cancers of the digestive system (dominant model: OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.08–1.41). These findings provided evidence that H19 rs2107425 may modify general cancer susceptibility, while rs2839698 may modify cancer susceptibility based on ethnicity and type. Further experimental studies to evaluate the limits of this hypothesis are warranted, and future functional studies are required to clarify the possible mechanisms.