Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major causes of cancer death in the developed countries. Accumulated evidences indicate that lipid metabolism, especially the one in the arachidonic acid (AA)-pathway, appears to play a critical role in the development of CRC. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ(PPAR-γ) gene, one of the most important components of the AA-pathway, has been verified to express in a variety of tumor cells. Many studies have been performed about the association between the polymorphism 34 C>G of PPAR-γgene and CRC, but got conflicting results.
A research article to be published on May 7, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. A research team led by Professor Li-Cheng Dai, confirmed the former data of the association between PPAR-γgene 34 C>G and CRC in the meta-analysis.
In this report, the association between PPAR-γ gene polymorphism 34 C>G and colon cancer risk was observed, and the G allele decreased the colon cancer risk, which is meaningful to early diagnosis, prevention and individual-based treatment of colon cancer. Furthermore, 34 C>G of PPAR-γ gene might be a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer.
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