Abstract: Objective This study was performed to elucidate whether the vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) gene haplotypes were associated with the colorectal cancer risk in the Han ethnic group of China.Methods Association was analyzed in a hospital-based case-control study involving 182 colorectal cancer cases and 216 cancer-free controls. DNA was obtained from blood samples and the polymorphisms of -460T/C and -634G/C were genotyped by the method of PCR-RFLP. The software PHASE1.0 was performed to construct the haplotypes of every individual. Unconditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the statistical association of haplotypes in two groups adjusted by gender, age, smoking, drinking, and the family history of cancer. Results Both the -460T/C and -634G/C loci in the VEGF gene promoter were carried out in the Chinese individuals. The distributions of the VEGF genotypes among cases and controls were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. There was significant difference in allele frequency of -460T/C polymorphism between the colorectal cancer patients and normal subjects(P=0.002) while, there was no significant difference in -634G/C polymorphism(P=0.103). The haplotypes analysis showed that the result exhibited a significantly higher level of haplotype C-C in colorectal cancer patients compared to control subjects(P<0.001; OR=4.28, 95%CI: 2.77-13.41). Conclusion Based on these findings, it seemed that the haplotype C-C constructed by the VEGF gene promoter -460T/C and -634G/C polymorphisms may contribute to the susceptibility of colorectal cancer in the Chinese population.

Key words: vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), colorectal cancer, haplotype, susceptibility