MicroRNA-binding site polymorphisms and risk of breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is a complex, genetically heterogeneous disease. The results of numerous studies have proven the important role of miRNA in tumor progression. miRNA sequences are highly conserved. Any variants in these sequences as well as the binding sites of miRNA in the target genes are supposed to be under negative selective pressure. miRNA that alter the expression of genes have been identified to play a significant role in BC regulation. The present study is aimed at investigating the involvement of SNPs in miRNA-binding sites as risk factors for the development of BC. A case - control study was performed to evaluate genetic variants of BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, RAD51, RAD52, MRE11A, NBN, ERBB4, PTEN genes as BC risk factors. The results of the present study suggest that genetic variants rs11895168 / ERBB4 and rs7180135 / RAD51 are associated with breast cancer risk.