LAUSR

Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality both in Taiwan and worldwide. WNT1-inducible signalling pathway protein 1 (WISP1) has been reported to be an essential regulator in cancer carcinogenesis. This study focused on examining the WISP1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to elucidate HCC susceptibility and clinicopathologic characteristics. Material and methods 6 SNPs of WISP1 were analysed with real-time polymerase chain reaction in 332 patients with HCC and 664 cancer-free controls. Results and discussions The results exhibited that the WISP1 rs2977530 polymorphism carriers were susceptible to HCC. Patients with higher frequencies of WISP1 rs62514004 (AG+GG) and rs16893344 (CT +TT) variants were at a lower risk to reach a later clinical stage compared with the wild-type carriers. Furthermore, individuals who carried WISP1 rs62514004 and rs16893344 haplotype G-T revealed a higher synergistic effect combined with alcohol drinking on HCC development (AOR=26.590, 95% CI=9.780–72.295). Conclusion Our results indicated that the HCC patients with WISP1 SNPs are associated with HCC susceptibility. The WISP1 SNPs may serve as markers or therapeutic targets for HCC.