Association of DLC1 gene polymorphism with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma in Chinese hepatitis B virus carriers

Background: Lost or downexpression of the gene deleted in liver cancer 1 (DLC1) has been implicated in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We examined the relationship between DLC1 polymorphisms and HCC risk among Chinese. Methods: Three DLC1 polymorphisms, Ex11 + 255T > G (rs3739298), Ex11-620G > A (rs532841) and IVS19 + 108C > T (rs621554), were genotyped in 434 patients with HCC and 480 controls by PCR-RFLP. The associations with the susceptibility to HCC were evaluated while controlling for confounding factors. Results: We observed significantly increased susceptibility to HCC for the C/C genotype compared with T/T of IVS19 + 108C > T in the HBV carriers (OR = 2.95, 95% CI, 1.65–5.26, P < 0.001). Compared with the haplotype G-A-T (in order of Ex11 + 255T > G, Ex11-620G > A and IVS19 + 108C > T), the haplotype T-G-C was also significantly associated with an increased susceptibility to HCC among HBV carriers (OR = 2.16, 95% CI, 1.08–4.35, P = 0.009). The stratified analysis indicated no modification of the confounding factors on the increased susceptibility to HCC related to the DLC1 polymorphism/haplotype. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that DLC1 genetic polymorphism or haplotype play a role in mediating the susceptibility to HBV-related HCC.