The influence of CASP8 D302H gene variant in colorectal cancer risk and prognosis

Objectives: Apoptosis is defined as programmed cell death, which regulates cellular functions and various physiological responses. Several studies reported that Caspase genes play important roles in the apoptosis and inflammation process. Caspase-8 (CASP8) is a member of the cysteine protease family and a key regulator gene in the induction of apoptosis. In present study, we aimed to investigate the possible associations between the CASP8; D302H (G>C) gene polymorphism and colorectal cancer risk and prognosis. Methods: The CASP8; D302H genotypes were determined in 75 colorectal cancer patients and 122 healthy controls. Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect the CASP8; D302H gene variation in the study group. Results: We found that individuals carrying the GC genotype of CASP8; D302H gene variation had significantly lower colorectal cancer risk compared with those carrying CC and GG genotypes (OR=0.539; p=0.045). In addition, we analyzed the clinicopathological characteristics of patients and noticed a significant correlation between the C allele frequency and moderately differentiated tumor parameter (p<0.05). Conclusions: The CASP8; D302H gene polymorphism GC genotype might be associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer but further studies in a larger population are needed most effective evaluation of the CASP8; D302H gene variation in colorectal cancer development.