Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
11-1-2023
Journal
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Abstract
Background: Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that higher folate intake is associated with decreased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not fully understood. Genetic variation that may have a direct or indirect impact on folate metabolism can provide insights into folate's role in CRC.
Objectives: Our aim was to perform a genome-wide interaction analysis to identify genetic variants that may modify the association of folate on CRC risk.
Methods: We applied traditional case-control logistic regression, joint 3-degree of freedom, and a 2-step weighted hypothesis approach to test the interactions of common variants (allele frequency >1%) across the genome and dietary folate, folic acid supplement use, and total folate in relation to risk of CRC in 30,550 cases and 42,336 controls from 51 studies from 3 genetic consortia (CCFR, CORECT, GECCO).
Results: Inverse associations of dietary, total folate, and folic acid supplement with CRC were found (odds ratio [OR]: 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.90, 0.96; and 0.91; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.94 per quartile higher intake, and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.88) for users compared with nonusers, respectively). Interactions (P-interaction < 5×10-8) of folic acid supplement and variants in the 3p25.2 locus (in the region of Synapsin II [SYN2]/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 4 [TIMP4]) were found using traditional interaction analysis, with variant rs150924902 (located upstream to SYN2) showing the strongest interaction. In stratified analyses by rs150924902 genotypes, folate supplementation was associated with decreased CRC risk among those carrying the TT genotype (OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.86) but increased CRC risk among those carrying the TA genotype (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.05), suggesting a qualitative interaction (P-interaction = 1.4×10-8). No interactions were observed for dietary and total folate.
Conclusions: Variation in 3p25.2 locus may modify the association of folate supplement with CRC risk. Experimental studies and studies incorporating other relevant omics data are warranted to validate this finding.
Keywords
Humans, Folic Acid, Risk Factors, Colorectal Neoplasms, Case-Control Studies, Dietary Supplements, CRC, European, GWIS, SYN2, TIMP4, colorectal cancer, folate, folic acid, genome-wide, interaction, synapsin, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 4
DOI
10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.08.010
PMID
37640106
PMCID
PMC10636229
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
8-26-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Included in
Bioinformatics Commons, Biomedical Informatics Commons, Genetic Phenomena Commons, Medical Genetics Commons, Oncology Commons