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Are the FTO Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Colorectal Cancer? A Meta-analysis

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Abstract

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is reported to be associated with some gene polymorphisms. However, the effect of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene on colorectal cancer is not yet clear. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association of the FTO gene polymorphism and colorectal cancer.

Methods

PubMed, Web of science, Scopus, and Embase were explored to identify the studies investigating the relationship between rs9939609 and rs17817449 polymorphisms of FTO gene and colorectal cancer, and the published papers from 2000 to 2019 were collected. This meta-analysis was conducted by using a random-effects model for the best estimation of the desired outcomes.

Results

In this study, 1528 studies were initially included and five eligible case–control studies including 13,460 cases and 22,578 controls were eligible for further analyses. No significant association was found between risk allele of FTO rs9939609 (OR = 0.98, 0.87–1.1) and rs17817449 (OR = 0.9, 0.79–1.03) polymorphisms and colorectal cancer risk. The subgroup analyses considering the source of the control group and race found no significant association between FTO polymorphisms and the risk of colon cancer.

Conclusions

This study indicated that rs9939609 and rs17817449 FTO gene polymorphisms are not associated with colorectal cancer risk. Individual studies involving different FTO polymorphisms are needed to further evaluation of the associations between the FTO gene and colon cancer.

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Abbreviations

FTO:

Fat mass and obesity associated

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

PRISMA:

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

BMI:

Body mass index

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted at the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (code 27946).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

MGh, SD, FB, AP, NK, and SHR designed the study, and were involved in the data collection, analysis, and drafting of the manuscript. RT, MB, MEA, and SR were involved in the design of the study, analysis of the data, and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Saeid Doaei.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

This study has been approved by Local ethics review boards at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (IR.SBMU.NNFTRI.REC.1400.020).

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Institutional consent forms were used in this study.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Gholamalizadeh, M., Tabrizi, R., Bourbour, F. et al. Are the FTO Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Colorectal Cancer? A Meta-analysis. J Gastrointest Canc 52, 846–853 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00651-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-021-00651-9

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