Abstract: Objective To investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping to microRNA-4293 (rs12220909) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility.Methods Blood samples were collected from 1788 cases, including 884 normal control cases and 904 HCC cases. Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from blood samples, and SNPs mapping to microRNA-4293 (rs12220909) were detected by MassARRAY. Then association between genotype of rs12220909 and HCC susceptibility was analyzed by binary logistic regression.Results In female HCC patients, CC genotype of rs12220909, especially in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC patients (P=0.02), was significantly higher than that in healthy control group (P=0.04). It indicated that CC genotype might be a risk factor for female HCC, especially for HBV-related HCC. However, this association did not exist in male patients (P=0.33).Conclusion Genotype of microRNA-4293 (rs12220909) is relevant to HCC in female patients.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Susceptibility; MicroRNA-4923; SNP(rs12220909)