Association of ADH1B Arg47His and ALDH2 Glu487Lys polymorphisms with risk of colorectal cancer and their interaction with environmental factors in a Chinese population.

Human colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major worldwide health concern, and its development has been shown to be associated with alcohol intake. We carried out a study to investigate the effect of the ADH1B Arg47His and ALDH2 Glu487Lys genetic polymorphisms and their interaction with alcohol consumption on development of CRC. Between March 2013 and May 2015, a total of 274 CRC patients and 358 healthy controls were recruited. Genotyping of sequence variations was performed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Under a co-dominant model, individuals with the ADH1B Arg47His AA genotype showed increased CRC risk compared to those carrying the GG genotype, with an adjusted odds ratio (and 95% confidence interval) of 3.37 (2.00-5.70). Moreover, under dominant and recessive models, ADH1B Arg47His variant genotypes were associated with greater susceptibility to CRC when compared with the wild-type sequence. Both polymorphisms examined were positively associated with alcohol consumption in a Spearman correlation analysis of CRC risk. In conclusion, our study suggests that the ADH1B Arg47His polymorphism, but not the ALDH2 Glu487Lys variation, may influence development of CRC in the Chinese population.