Cytochrome P2E1 (CYP2E1) Gene Polymorphism as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker in Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Colon cancer is the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer. Genetic factors have been shown to have a role in the development of colorectal cancers. The aim of this study was to assess the expression of Cytochrome P2E1 (CYP2E1) gene polymorphism as a potential prognostic biomarker in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis evaluation of patients with colorectal cancer.

Methods: in this cross-sectional study, all of our 100 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgical operation were included. DNA was extracted from the tumor specimens to assess Cytochrome P2E1 (CYP2E1) Gene polymorphism by Conventional-PCR. RFLP-PCR method was used for RsaI polymorphism evaluation. Patients' characteristics were also recorded and their associations with CYP2E1 were assessed.

Results: One hundred tumor specimens were assessed. In total, 88 had wild-type, 8 had purely a 96 bp insertion in CYP2E1, and 4 were partially mutated by a single allele insertion. Generally, 10% of samples had positive results for the RsaI polymorphism. There were no statistically significant associations between CYP2E1 gene polymorphism and number of lymph nodes removed during the operation (P = 0.353), number of positive lymph nodes (P = 0.668), tumor specificity including mucinous or non-mucinous (P = 0.053), tumor invasion (P = 0.074), grading (P = 0.898), differentiation (P = 0.941), tumor location (P = 0.42) or staging (P = 0.182).

Conclusion: There was no association between RsaI type CYP2E1 polymorphism and colorectal cancer risk. Our study does not support the use of this biomarker to evaluate the prognosis of colon cancer.