PLoS ONE (Jan 2016)

Genetic Variants Associated with Colorectal Adenoma Susceptibility.

  • Anna Abulí,
  • Antoni Castells,
  • Luis Bujanda,
  • Juan José Lozano,
  • Xavier Bessa,
  • Cristina Hernández,
  • Cristina Álvarez-Urturi,
  • Maria Pellisé,
  • Clara Esteban-Jurado,
  • Elizabeth Hijona,
  • Andrea Burón,
  • Francesc Macià,
  • Jaume Grau,
  • Rafael Guayta,
  • Sergi Castellví-Bel,
  • Montserrat Andreu,
  • PROCOLON research group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153084
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 4
p. e0153084

Abstract

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BACKGROUND:Common low-penetrance genetic variants have been consistently associated with colorectal cancer risk. AIM:To determine if these genetic variants are associated also with adenoma susceptibility and may improve selection of patients with increased risk for advanced adenomas and/or multiplicity (≥ 3 adenomas). METHODS:We selected 1,326 patients with increased risk for advanced adenomas and/or multiplicity and 1,252 controls with normal colonoscopy from population-based colorectal cancer screening programs. We conducted a case-control association study analyzing 30 colorectal cancer susceptibility variants in order to investigate the contribution of these variants to the development of subsequent advanced neoplasia and/or multiplicity. RESULTS:We found that 14 of the analyzed genetic variants showed a statistically significant association with advanced adenomas and/or multiplicity: the probability of developing these lesions increased with the number of risk alleles reaching a 2.3-fold risk increment in individuals with ≥ 17 risk alleles. CONCLUSIONS:Nearly half of the genetic variants associated with colorectal cancer risk are also related to advanced adenoma and/or multiplicity predisposition. Assessing the number of risk alleles in individuals within colorectal cancer screening programs may help to identify better a subgroup with increased risk for advanced neoplasia and/or multiplicity in the general population.