Relationship of MicroRNA-146a rs2910164 SNP and tobacco consumption with the susceptibility of digestive system cancer

Many studies reported that microRNA (miR)-146a rs2910164 could influence the risk of digestive system cancer (DSC). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess a possible effectof rs2910164 C to G variant in miR-146a gene and the smoking status with risk of DSC. The EMBASE, PubMed and CBM databases were searched to retrieve eligible papers up to January 20, 2025. Finally, 11 independent case-control studies involving 17,484 subjects were included. The association of rs2910164 polymorphism and tobacco using with DSC susceptibility was evaluated. In this pooled-analysis, we found significant difference in DSC risk between tobacco users and non-tobacco users who carried rs2910164 CC/CG genotypes (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.05–1.84). In addition, there was significant difference between rs2910164 polymorphism (dominant model) and DSC susceptibility in both non-tobacco (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.06–1.33) and tobacco users (OR = 1.13, 95%CI = 1.01–1.26). When stratified analyses were conducted by different type of DSC, we found significant difference in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) risk between tobacco users and non-tobacco users who carried rs2910164 CC/CG genotypes (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.55–3.50). We also found significant difference between rs2910164 (dominant model) and gastric carcinoma (GC) susceptibility in both non-tobacco (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.02–1.58). In summary, the current pooled-analysis highlights that tobacco consumption significantly increases the DSC development in rs2910164 CC/CG genotypes.