Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 June, 263(2)

Association of hTERT Gene Polymorphism and Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Risk in the Chinese Han Population

Xianxian Fu,¹ Yanyan Xiong,² Renjin Tang,³ Xuelin Li,³ Hong Liu² and Xiaowei Ren⁴

¹Department of Laboratory, Haikou People's Hospital, Haikou, Hainan, China
²Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
³Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Chengdu Shangjin Nanfu Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
⁴Department of Anorectal, Fuling Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Chongqing, China

The catalytic subunit telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is a prerequisite for malignant transformation of human cells. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor. The genetic association of hTERT gene rs2853669 and rs2736098 polymorphisms with CRC was surveyed in the Chinese population. Two hundreds patients with CRC and 200 healthy controls were taken for blood sample collection. Sanger sequencing was applied for genotyping. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed, and odds ratio (OR) together with confidence interval (CI) were calculated to obtain the corresponding association power. Among CRC cases (49.50%), hTERT gene rs2736098 GA genotype carriers were more prevalent compared with the control group (41.00%, P = 0.035), which increased the risk of CRC by 1.576 times (95% CI, 1.031-2.409). Distribution of the rs2736098 genotypes was significantly associated with TNM stage, tumor differentiation, tumor size and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The frequencies of hTERT gene rs2853669 polymorphism were not significantly different between CRC patients and healthy controls. Logistic regression analysis indicated that both body mass index (BMI) and hTERT gene rs2736098 polymorphism remained significantly correlated with CRC susceptibility. The frequencies of hTERT gene rs2853669 polymorphism did not differ significantly between CRC patients and control group (P > 0.05). The hTERT gene rs2736098 polymorphism was correlated with CRC risk in the Chinese Han population, and the GA genotype was a risk element for the onset of CRC.

Key words —— colorectal cancer; genetic predisposition; hTERT gene; logistic regression; SNP

© 2024 Tohoku University Medical Press

===============================

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 June, 263(2), 89-95.

Correspondence: Xiaowei Ren, Department of Anorectal, Fuling Hospital of Chinese Medicine, No. 15, Taiyi Avenue, Fuling District, Chongqing 408000, China.

e-mail: Dr_renxw@163.com

Correspondence: Hong Liu, Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No. 37, Guoxue Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.

e-mail: liuhongdr1980@163.com