Genetic variants within 17q12 are associated with the risk of cervical cancer in the Han Chinese population

Chromosome 4q12 and 17q12 have been identified as two regions associated with susceptibility to cervical cancer in a genome-wide association study. To identify potential causal variants within these two regions, we conducted a case-control study including 1486 patients with cervical cancer and 1536 age-matched (±5 years) healthy controls. Based on RegulomeDB database, 12 potentially functional variants were selected and then genotyped by using Sequenom MassARRAY. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations. We found that the G allele of rs8076131 and the A allele of rs12150079 in 17q12 region were significantly associated with increased risk of cervical cancer (adjusted OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.02-1.30, P = 0.02 for rs8076131; adjusted OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.03-1.36, P = 0.02 for rs12150079). Individuals with 3-4 risk alleles of these two variants had 24% higher odds of cervical cancer than those without the risk alleles (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.07-1.44, P < 0.01). The stratified analysis showed that the associations of rs8076131 and rs12150079 with cervical cancer risk were statistically significant in subgroups of older menarche age (>16 years), more parities (≥2), nonsmokers, and having no family cancer history, but the test results for subgroup heterogeneity were not significant. The current study provides the evidence that rs8076131 and rs12150079 in 17q12 region may contribute to cervical cancer susceptibility in the Han Chinese population.