XRCC3 Thr241Met Gene Polymorphism and Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Kashmir: a Case Control Study

XRCC (X-ray cross-complementing group) genes contribute to important DNA repair mechanisms thatplay roles in the repair of single strand breaks (SSBs) induced by a variety of external and internal factors,including ionizing radiation, alkylating agents and reactive oxygen species. These repair genes have a pivotalrole in maintaining genomic stability through different pathways of base excision repair (BER). The aim of thisstudy was to investigate the XRCC3 Thr241Met gene polymorphism in colorectal cancer (CRC) in Kashmir. Weinvestigated the genotype distribution of XRCC3 gene in 120 CRC cases in comparison with 150 healthy subjectsand found a significant association between XRCC3 genotypes and CRC (p≤0.05). Both heterozygous genotype(Thr/Met) as well as homozygous variant genotype (Met/Met) were moderately associated with elevated riskof CRC [OR=2.53; OR=2.29 respectively]. Also, Thr/Met and Met/Met genotypes demonstrated a significantassociation with the risk of CRC (p = 0.003). This study displayed a significantly elevated risk for CRC inindividuals with XRCC3 Thr/Met and Met/Met Genotype of about 2.5 times that with the Thr/Thr wild genotype.