Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism and risk of colorectal adenomas

A homozygous mutation at bp 677 in the gene for the methylenetetrahydrofola te reductase (MTHFR) was previously shown to be associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. We examined the relation between the MTHFR gene tic polymorphism and risk of colorectal adenoma in Japanese men using 205 c ases of colorectal adenomas and 220 controls of normal total colonoscopy. T he homozygous mutation was not measurably associated with colorectal adenom as. The findings corroborate the lack of an association between the MTHFR g enotype and colorectal adenomas, but do not deny the possibility that the g enotype may be involved in the late stage of colorectal carcinogenesis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.