Genetic Variants as Predictors of the Success of Colorectal Cancer Treatments

Abstract

Background: Some genetic polymorphisms (SNPs) have been proposed as predictors for different colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes. This work aims to assess their performance in our cohort and find new SNPs associated with them. Methods: A total of 833 CRC cases were analyzed for seven outcomes, including the use of chemotherapy, and stratified by tumor location and stage. The performance of 63 SNPs was assessed using a generalized linear model and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and local SNPs were detected using logistic regressions. Results: In total 26 of the SNPs showed an AUC > 0.6 and a significant association (p < 0.05) with one or more outcomes. However, clinical variables outperformed some of them, and the combination of genetic and clinical data showed better performance. In addition, 49 suggestive (p < 5 × 10−6) SNPs associated with one or more CRC outcomes were detected, and those SNPs were located at or near genes involved in biological mechanisms associated with CRC. Conclusions: Some SNPs with clinical data can be used in our population as predictors of some CRC outcomes, and the local SNPs detected in our study could be feasible markers that need further validation as predictors.