Inheritance of the 194Trp and the 399Gln variant alleles of the DNA repairgene XRCC1 are associated with increased risk of early-onset colorectal carcinoma in Egypt

Patients under age 40 constitute 35.6% of all colorectal cancer cases in Eg ypt, an unusual disease pattern to which both environmental exposures and i nefficient DNA repair may contribute. While a number of polymorphisms in DN A repair genes have been recently identified, their role as cancer risk mod ifiers is yet to be determined. In a pilot case-control study, we tested th e hypothesis that polymorphisms in the gene for the DNA repair enzyme XRCC1 are associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer among Egyptians. U sing a multiplex polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length poly morphism (PCR-RFLP) methodology, allelic variants of the XRCC1 gene at codo ns 194 (Arg --> Trp) (194Trp) and 399 (Arg --> Gin) (399Gln), were analyzed in DNA from lymphocytes of 48 newly-diagnosed colorectal cancer cases and 48 age- and sex-matched controls. Overall, the inheritance of 194Trp allele (Arg/Trp genotype) and 399Gln allele (combined Arg/Gln and Gln/Gln genotyp es) was associated with increased colorectal cancer risk (odds ratio(OR) = 2.56, 95% confidence limits (CL) 0.73-9.40, and P = 0.08 for 194Trp allele and OR = 3.98, 95% CL 1.50-10.6, and P < 0.001 for 399Gln allele). Interest ingly, the frequencies of 194Trp and 399Gln genotypes were higher in colore ctal cancer cases under age 40 than in corresponding controls, and an assoc iation between both polymorphisms and early age of disease onset was observ ed (OR = 3.33, 95% CL 0.48-35.90, and P = 0.16 for 194Trp and OR = 11.90, 9 5% CL 2.30-51.50, and P = 0.0003 for 399Gln). Analysis of the data after ad justment for place of residence indicated that the frequencies of the genot ypes with the 194Trp and;he 399Gln alleles were higher among urban resident s (OR = 3.33, 95% CL 0.48-35.90. and P = 0.16 for 194Trp and OR = 9.97, 95% CL 1.98-43.76. and P ( 0.001 for 399Gln) than among rural residents (OR = 2.00, 95% CL 0.36-26.00. and P = 0.30 for 194Trp and OR = 1.90, 95% CL 0.50 -7.53, and P = 0.30 for 399Gln). These findings support our hypothesis and suggest that polymorphisms in the XRCC1 gene, in conjunction with place of residence, may modify disease risk. This first demonstration that polymorph isms in DNA repair genes may contribute to colorectal cancer susceptibility and may increase the risk of early onset of the disease opens the door for future studies in that direction. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science I reland Ltd. All rights reserved.