Objective: To investigate the association between genetic variations in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and the risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.
Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight cases of colorectal cancer and 420 controls were genotyped for detecting MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP methods. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression model.
Results: The frequency of the MTHFR C677T allele found among cases was significantly more frequent than that among controls (51.3% to 44.4%, P = 0.02). As compared with the 677CC genotype, the 677TT genotypes had a 67% (95% CI, 1.05 - 2.66) increased risk of colorectal cancers. However, there appeared no any correlations between the genetic variations of MTHFR and the cancer metastasis.
Conclusion: These findings demonstrated that the genetic variation of MTHFR C677T should be a genetic susceptibility factor for colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.