The association of a genetic variant in multi-drug resistance gene and colorectal cancer susceptibility

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most malignant tumors worldwide with poor prognosis. There are various genetic polymorphisms associated with colorectal cancer have been reported in recent studies. Here, we examined the relationship between the multidrug resistance mutation 1 (MDR1 or ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1, ABCB1) (rs1128503) polymorphism and the risk of CRC in 334 individuals with or without CRC. DNA was extracted and genotyped using a Taq-Man based PCR method. The MDR1 polymorphism was shown to be related to the susceptibility for CRC using recessive (OR = 3.76, CI = 2.18–6.51, p < 0.001) and dominant models (OR = 1.96, CI = 1.12–3.45, p = 0.01). No association was found between the variant and Marriage/Education/Smoking/alcohol-consumption status. Our findings demonstrated the association of the genetic variant in the MDR1 gene with susceptibility to CRC, suggesting its potential role as a risk stratification biomarker in CRC patients.