In the stratified analyses by sex, the associations between miR-499 rs3746444 and miR-146ars2910164 polymorphisms with the susceptibility of oral squamous cell cancer were significant in males.
A clue from expression analyses of miR-146a-5p in all 13 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines examined and in OSCC tissues, whole blood and whole saliva of OSCC patients in vivo revealed that miR‑146a-5p expression was highly upregulated.
In OPSCC patients, the G/G genotype of miR-146a was correlated with well-differentiated cells (P=0.041), and the G/C and C/C genotypes of miR-1269b were correlated with the absence of lymph node involvement (P=0.031), especially in OSCC patients (P=0.038 and P=0.007, respectively).
However, there was a sex-specific association between BCC and MIR146A in women (ORGC = 0.73, [95%CI = 0.52-1.03]; ORCC = 0.29, [95% CI = 0.14-0.61], p-trend<0.001), and a reduction in risk, albeit not statistically significant, associated with RNASEL and SCC in men (ORAG = 0.88, [95%CI = 0.65-1.19]; ORAA = 0.68, [95%CI = 0.43-1.08], p-trend = 0.10).
In addition, a G to C polymorphism (rs2910164), which is located in the pre-miR-146a and has been associated with functional alterations in miR-146a, was significantly more prevalent among OSCC patients having more advanced nodal involvement.