We evaluated the association of a polymorphism in
TCF7L2 (RS12255372) in the
WNT signaling pathway, which previously has been strongly associated with risk of Type II Diabetes, with colorectal cancer (CRC)
and adenoma in the prospective Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) cohorts. Hyperinsulinemia
may be related to the risk of colon adenoma and cancer, therefore this variant associated with reduced insulin secretion would
be predicted to be inversely associated with colorectal cancer. Overall, in the NHS and HPFS, there was suggestive evidence
for an inverse association associated with homozygosity for the minor allele of RS12255372 (
TCF7L2 TT) and CRC (conditional and covariate adjusted OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.37–1.08; P for heterogeneity 0.52 for the association in
women and men). In summary, the marginal association of the
TCF7L2 SNP with CRC might be due to chance, but warrants further laboratory and epidemiological investigation.
Keywords
TCF7L2
- Polymorphism -
WNT pathway - Colorectal cancer - Colorectal adenoma