Abstract
BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs of 20-22 nucleotides in length, which regulate the translation or degradation of human messenger RNA (mRNA). MiRNAs involve in the regulation of most biological processes, as well as human diverse diseases including cancer. Recently, many studies investigated the association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CRC), which showed inconclusive results. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a meta-analysis of 6 studies that included 1800 cases and 2329 controls. There was a statistically decreased risk of CRC in dominant model, recessive model and homozygous model. In the Asian group, significantly decreased susceptibility of CRC was found in allele model, dominant model, recessive model and homozygous model. As for the Caucasian group, none of genetic models demonstrates significant association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and susceptibility of CRC. CONCLUSIONS: These findings supported that miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism may contribute to the susceptibility of CRC.