CARD15 gene polymorphisms in Serbian patients with Crohn's disease: genotype-phenotype analysis.

Objective: Genetic heterogeneity and incomplete phenotype penetrance complicate genetic analysis of Crohn's disease (CD). Studies in western Europe have shown that CARD15 polymorphisms increase susceptibility to CD, but frequencies vary within different European populations. The aim here was to evaluate the prevalence of CARD15 mutations and their phenotypic correlation in a Serbian population.