The association between ACE polymorphism and risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population

Abstract

Objectives Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) plays crucial roles not only in the regulation of circulatory homeostasis but also in the pathology of carcinomas. An insertion–deletion (I/D) polymorphism in intron 16 of ACE gene was identified to be functional. We aimed to investigate the association between ACE I/D polymorphism and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Design and methods Using genomic DNA from 241 CRC patients and 299 control subjects, we genotyped the ACE I/D polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction analysis. Results We found that patients carrying the D allele were associated with an increased risk of developing poorly differentiated cancer and metastasis compared with those carrying the I allele (OR = 1.54, 95%CI, 1.04–2.28; OR = 1.56, 95%CI, 1.08–2.26, respectively), although no significant association was observed between cases and controls in overall analysis. Conclusions These findings indicate that the ACE I/D polymorphism is likely to play a role in CRC progression.