LncRNA CDKN2BAS rs2157719 genetic variant contributes to medulloblastoma predisposition

BACKGROUND: How germline single nucleotide polymorphisms are involved in the etiology of medulloblastoma remans poorly understood. We hypothesized that CCDKN2A/B rs1063192 and rs4977756 and also the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) CDKN2BAS rs2157719 glioma susceptibility polymorphisms identified by genome-wide association studies may contribute to medulloblastoma predisposition. METHODS: To test this hypothesis, we genotyped these genetic variants among 160 medulloblastoma patients and 443 health controls in a Chinese population. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by logistic regression. The stratified analyses showed an elevated risk of pediatric medulloblastoma associated with CDKN2BAS rs2157719 CC or TC genotype (both p < 0.05). Moreover, the association between the CDKN2BAS rs2157719 polymorphism and medulloblastoma risk is more pronounced in males (OR = 2.22, 95% CI = 1.36-3.62; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study provide important insights into the genetic complexities and predisposition of medulloblastoma in Chinese, especially at the lncRNA germline variation level.