The Contribution of Excision Repair Cross-complementing Group 1 Genotypes to Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility in Taiwan.

Aim: To evaluate the contribution of ERCC1 rs11615 and rs3212986 genotypes regarding the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, ERCC1 rs11615 and rs3212986 genotypes and their interaction with consumption of cigarettes and alcohol in determining CRC risk were investigated among 362 CRC patients and 362 age-and gender-matched healthy controls. Results: The percentages of CC, CT and TT for ERCC1 rs11615 genotype were 44.2%, 36.2% and 19.6% in the CRC group and 49.7%, 38.4% and 11.9% in the control group, respectively (p for trend= 0.0158). The allelic frequency distribution analysis showed that the variant T allele of ERCC1 rs11615 conferred increased CRC susceptibility to the wild-type C allele (odds ratio (OR)= 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 1.08-1.67, p= 0.0079). As for the gene-lifestyle interaction, there were obvious joint effects of ERCC1 rs11615 genotype on the risk of CRC among ever smokers and alcohol drinkers, but not non-smokers or non-drinkers. There is a positive correlation of ERCC1 rs11615 genotype with lymph node metastasis, but not other CRC prognosis, including tumor size and location. Conclusion: ERCC1 rs11615 T allele serves as a predictive marker for CRC risk and future studies with larger samples and functional evaluation are warranted to validate these findings.