Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. TheSTAT4rs7574865 genetic variant has been associated with an increased risk of developing HCC in Asian populations. However, this association has not been studied in Latin America and is poorly assessed in European populations. This case-control study investigated the association betweenSTAT4rs7574865 and HCC risk in these populations. We evaluated DNA samples from seven medical institutions across six Latin American countries and one Dutch institution in 1060 individuals (344 HCC and 716 controls).STAT4rs7574865 SNP was genotyped using TaqMan-genotyping assay and analyzed using logistic regression. We found no significant association between the homozygous risk allele (G) ofSTAT4and HCC development in either population, with odds ratios (OR) for GG versus TT of 0.85 (CI: 0.48–1.52,p= 0.58) and 0.81 (CI: 0.34–1.93,p= 0.67) for Latin Americans and Europeans respectively. No correlation was found between the risk allele and HCC based on underlying liver disease. However, we found that Latin Americans of European ancestry were more likely to carry the risk allele. Our results suggest that theSTAT4SNP rs7574865 does not influence the risk of developing HCC in Latin American or European populations, highlighting the importance of evaluating genetic risk factors in various ethnic groups and understanding the possible influence of ancestry on the genetic basis of disease.
肝细胞癌（HCC）是全球癌症死亡的第三大原因。STAT4基因rs7574865变异在亚洲人群中已被证实与HCC发病风险升高相关，但该关联在拉丁美洲尚未得到研究，在欧洲人群中的评估也较为有限。本病例对照研究探讨了该基因位点与上述人群HCC风险的关系。我们收集了来自六个拉丁美洲国家七家医疗机构及一家荷兰机构的1060例样本（344例HCC患者与716例对照），采用TaqMan基因分型技术对STAT4 rs7574865单核苷酸多态性进行检测，并通过逻辑回归模型进行分析。结果显示：在拉丁美洲和欧洲人群中，STAT4风险等位基因（G）纯合子与HCC发病均无显著关联，其比值比（GG vs TT）分别为0.85（95%置信区间：0.48–1.52，p=0.58）和0.81（95%置信区间：0.34–1.93，p=0.67）。基于不同基础肝病亚组的分析也未发现风险等位基因与HCC的相关性。然而，研究发现具有欧洲血统的拉丁美洲人群携带该风险等位基因的频率更高。本研究结果表明，STAT4 rs7574865多态性对拉丁美洲及欧洲人群的HCC发病风险无显著影响，这凸显了在不同族裔群体中评估遗传风险因素的重要性，并提示血统背景可能对疾病的遗传基础产生影响。
Assessment of STAT4 Variants and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Latin Americans and Europeans
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家