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

ObjectivesAngiotensin 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 methodsUsing genomic DNA from 241 CRC patients and 299 control subjects, we genotyped the ACE I/D polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction analysis.ResultsWe 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.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that the ACE I/D polymorphism is likely to play a role in CRC progression.

► We investigated the association between ACE I/D polymorphism and risk of CRC.
► Patients with D allele tend to develop poorly differentiated cancer and metastasis.
► We concluded that ACE I/D polymorphism is likely to play a role in CRC progression.