Genetic associations of <i>Neat1</i> polymorphisms with clinicopathologic characteristics of tongue cancer

One of the most common malignant tumors of the head and neck region is tongue cancer. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) called nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (Neat1) are linked to tumor growth, survival, and apoptosis in a variety of cancer types; however, it is unclear how these factors relate to tongue cancer. Furthermore, it is unknown how <i>Neat1</i> polymorphisms and clinicopathological traits in individuals with tongue cancer relate to one another. We looked examined the effects of three variants in the <i>Neat1</i> gene and clinicopathological characteristics on the risk of tongue cancer in 400 male Taiwanese patients who already had the disease. Carriers of the CT+TT heterozygote of SNP rs3825071 were at a significantly lower risk to clinical stage (III+IV) and lymph node metastasis compared to those with the CC genotype. For non-smoking tongue cancer patients, but not those who smoke, the SNP rs3825071 was associated with a lower clinical stage (III+IV) and reduced lymph node metastasis. The Cancer Genome Atlas database noted that <i>Neat1</i> mRNA levels are higher in tongue cancer patients compared to normal tissues and are associated with tumor stage and metastasis. This study is the first to establish a link between the clinicopathological features of tongue cancer patients and <i>Neat1</i> polymorphisms.