Abstract
BACKGROUND: The current study aims to determine whether prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) gene polymorphism confers a risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim is to find out the novel markers for predicting HCC risk and provide an early warning mechanism for the population susceptible to HCC. METHODS: A case-control study was used to select 160 HCC patients who were admitted to People's Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region between May 2021 and April 2024 as the case group, and 280 healthy adults matching the gender and age of the case group were collected as the normal control group. PSCA gene polymorphism was detected using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). At the same time, whether the interaction of gene and smokers affects polymorphism is also investigated. RESULTS: Significant associations were found at the rs2294008 and rs2976392 loci of PSCA gene (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences at the rs1045531 or rs2978974 loci (P > 0.05). All HCC patients were divided into smokers and non-smokers. The final results did not show any significant difference in genotype frequency between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The PSCA rs2294008 and rs2976392 polymorphisms contribute to an increased risk of HCC and serve as two novel markers for predicting HCC risk.