The Correlation of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene rs1799983 Polymorphisms with Colorectal Cancer

The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene encodes the eNOS enzyme in humans; it synthesizes nitric oxide (NO), which prevents or promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. Polymorphisms of eNOS are correlated with the probability of cancer, but the findings are not consistent.

The present study aimed at investigating the correlation of eNOS rs1799983 polymorphism with CRC compared to the control group.

The eNOS rs1799983 polymorphism (G894T) was assessed in 100 healthy control subjects and 100 patients with CRC. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were utilized to analyze the eNOS polymorphism.

The risk of CRC in genotypes TT and GT of eNOS G894T polymorphism was significantly greater than genotype GG. The frequencies of genotypes TT and GT were 6% and 37% in the controls and 28% and 44% in the patients, respectively. The frequency of TT and GT genotypes showed a significant difference between patients with CRC (adjusted odds ratio (OR = 3.1, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.6 - 3.2; P = 0.001) and controls (adjusted OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 0.6 - 2.5; P = 0.005).

According to the results of the present study, allele T of eNOS G894T had a significant correlation with CRC even after adjusting for traditional risk factors.