BACKGROUND

Cyclin D1, encoded by the gene CCND1, is a regulatory protein in the cell cycle transition from G(1) phase to S phase. A common polymorphism (A870G) at codon 242 affects splicing of the CCND1 transcript and may cause uncontrollable cellular growth. The present study was performed to test the association between A870G polymorphisms in the CCND1 gene and colorectal cancer risk and progression.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The 870 A>G polymorphism in the cyclin D1 gene was genotyped in a Turkish colorectal cancer case-control population including fifty-seven cases (35 male, 22 female; mean age + or - SD: 59.33 + or - 13.7 years) and 117 controls (63 male, 54 female; mean age + or - SD: 54.4 + or - 12.2 years) using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

RESULTS

Genotype frequencies of our patients and controls both confirmed to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There was no difference in the distribution of CCND1 genotypes and frequencies of the alleles A (59.6% versus 49.6%) and G (40.4% versus 50.4%) in the colorectal cancer patients and controls, respectively. Women homozygous for the cyclin D1 870 GG genotype showed an increased risk for developing colorectal cancer compared to those with the AG+AA genotypes and this result was statistically significant (OR 5.568, 95% CI 1.270-24.417, p=0.02). On the other hand, the cyclin D1 GA genotype was associated with distant metastasis (p=0.016).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that genetic variants of A870G might be associated with distant metastasis and also gender.