Polymorphisms in arachidonic acid metabolism-related genes and the risk and prognosis of colorectal cancer

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) and phospholipaseA2 (PLA2) played important roles in the modulation of apoptosis, angiogenesis, carcinogenesis and invasion of colorectal cancer (CRC). The polymorphisms in COX-2, 12-LOX and PLA2 may affect their roles. Therefore, we investigated if COX-2 −1195G > A, 12-LOX 261Arg > Gln and PLA2 c.349 + 191A > G polymorphisms were associated with risk and prognosis of CRC as well as possible interactions with the environmental factors on the risk of CRC in Northeast of China. A case–control study with 451 cases and 631 controls were carried out, a cohort with 386 patients were followed up. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Compared with the 261Arg/Arg genotype, 12-LOX 261Arg/Gln genotype and 261Arg/Gln + Gln/Gln genotypes reduced the risk of rectal cancer by 33 % (adjusted OR = 0.67, 95 % CI 0.47–0.97, p = 0.03) and 32 % (adjusted OR = 0.68, 95 % CI 0.49–0.96, p = 0.03), respectively. The adjusted HR for the association between 12-LOX 261Gln/Gln genotype and overall survival in patients with CRC was 1.68 (95 % CI 1.06–2.68, p = 0.03). There was also evidence of an interaction between the PLA2 c.349 + 191 A > G genotypes and the overnight food consumption (adjusted ORi = 1.92, 95 % CI 1.14–3.25, Pinteraction = 0.01). These observations indicate that 12-LOX 261Arg > Gln polymorphism may affect risk of rectal cancer, and it may be a potential predictive marker for prognosis of CRC.