Background and purpose: CD44 is a biomarker for many human malignant tumors

and the expression level of CD44 might be associated with malignancy of cancers. Thus

in the current study

we investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in CD44 gene and cervical cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Yunnan Han population. Methods: For cervical cancer

497 patients and 500 healthy individuals were recruited. For NSCLC

483 patients and 471 healthy individuals were recruited. Two SNP in CD44 gene (rs13347

rs8193) were genotyped using TaqMan assay. And the association between the two SNP and the tumors was analyzed. Results: For cervical cancer

the allelic and genotypic frequencies of rs13347 and rs8193 were not significantly different between patients with cervical cancer and control groups (P0.05). For NSCLC

the allelic frequencies of rs13347 and rs8193 were significantly different between NSCLC and control groups (P=0.020 and P=0.004). The C allele of rs13347 occurred more frequently in NSCLC group than in control group and might be the risk factor for NSCLC (OR=1.250

95% CI: 1.035-1.509). The C allele of rs8193 occurred significantly more frequently in control group compared with NSCLC group

and might be a protective factor for NSCLC (OR=0.768

95% CI: 0.641-0.921). The genotypic frequencies of rs13347 and rs8193 were significantly different between NSCLC and control groups (P=0.027 and P=0.020). Additionally

the results of haplotype analysis showed that rs13347C-rs8193T haplotype might be associated with higher risk of NSCLC (P=0.003

OR=1.316

95% CI: 1.096-1.579). Conclusion: The two SNP in the CD44 gene (rs13347

rs8193) might be only associated with the risk of NSCLC

but not cervical cancer in the Yunnan Han population.