Mannose-binding lectin 2 rs11003123 polymor-phism is associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepa-titis B-related cirrhosis in the Chinese population

BACKGROUND: Mannose-binding lectin 2 (MBL2) plays a key role in the host immune response, but whether it is associ-ated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not clear. The present study aimed to identify the association between MBL2 gene polymorphisms and HCC in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis in the Chinese population.
METHODS: A single-nucleotide polymorphism of MBL2, rs11003123, was genotyped and analyzed in a case-control study of HBV-related cirrhotic patients with HCC (n=77) and without HCC (n=40).
RESULTS: We found that Child-Pugh proifles, model for end-stage liver disease score, and the incidence of encephalopathy were all higher in the non-HCC group (P<0.05). A signiifcant association between allele mutants and HCC occurrence was demonstrated by allele comparison (A vs G) (OR=0.34; 95%CI: 0.15-0.76;P=0.006). Heterozygous comparison (GA vs GG) revealed that the individuals with GA mutants had a reduced risk of HCC occurrence compared with those with GG wild type (adjusted OR=0.28; 95% CI: 0.10-0.80;P=0.004). In a dominant model (GA+AA vs GG), a decreased risk of HCC occurrence was observed in individuals with variant geno-types (GA and AA) compared with those with the wild type (adjusted OR=0.30; 95% CI: 0.11-0.85;P=0.004). However, no statistically signiifcant associations were observed between rs11003123 and prognosis of patients with HCC after liver transplantation in both recurrence-free survival and overall survival (P=0.449 andP=0.384, respectively).
CONCLUSION: MBL2 rs11003123 polymorphism may be a marker for the risk of HCC occurrence in patients with HBV-related cirrhosis in the Chinese population.