Genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes may have an effect on the risk for colorectal cancer, based on results from an association study.
“The present study showed for the first time a gender-specific association of polymorphisms in LTA and CDKAL1 with [colorectal cancer] risk,” the researchers wrote.
Juan Sainz, MD, a researcher in the Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology at German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues selected 26 type 2 diabetes-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 28 genes, formerly chosen by genome-wide association studies.
The SNPs were genotyped in 1,798 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases and 1,810 controls from the Darmkrebs: Chancen der Verhütung durch Screening (DACHS), a population-based, case-control study.
Researchers examined the association between SNPs and CRC and their relationship with known risk factors, such as gender, type 2 diabetes and BMI.
CRC risk associated with the LTA_rs1041982 was modified by gender (interaction OR=1.39; 95% CI, 1.13-1.70), the researchers wrote.
Women with the LTA_rs1041981_A allele had a decreased risk for CRC (per allele OR=0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98), whereas an opposite effect was observed in men (per-allele OR=1.14; 95% CI, 1.00-1.3).
In addition, the CDKAL1_rs7754840_C allele was associated with a decreased risk for CRC in men (per-allele OR=0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.98) but not in women (per-allele OR=1.09; 95% CI, 0.93-1.27).
Among carriers of the TCF7L2_rs7903146_T allele, women had a higher risk for CRC (per-allele OR=1.27; 95% CI, 1.08-1.5), whereas no effect was found in men who carried the allele (per-allele OR=1.04; 95% CI, 0.91-1.19).
The IGF2BP2_rs4402960 and PPARγ_rs1801282 variants modified the CRC risk associated with type 2 diabetes (interaction OR=1.39; 95% CI, 1.01-1.92, and interaction OR=0.63; 95% CI, 0.4-0.97, respectively).
The researchers concluded that the results may represent false-positive findings due to lost associations in multiple testing. However, they said their results “illustrate the potential benefit of assessing possible interactions between genetic variants, environmental factors and CRC risk and warrant further studies in independent, sufficiently powerful study populations.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.