No association of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α gene polymorphisms with survival in patients with colorectal cancer

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is the key regulator of cellular response to hypoxia and presumably plays a central role in the control of tumor growth. The present study analyzed polymorphisms of HIF-1 alpha gene and their impact on the prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer. Four hundred and forty-five consecutive patients with surgically resected colorectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled in the present study. The genomic DNA was extracted from fresh colorectal tissue, and 2 polymorphisms of HIF-1 alpha gene (HIF-1 alpha C1772T and HIF-1 alpha G1790A) determined using a real-time PCR genotyping assay. The 2 HIF-1 alpha gene polymorphisms were successfully amplified, and the frequencies of each genotype are as follows: [C1772T: CC (92.1%), CT (7.9%); G1790A: GG (93.0%), GA (7.0%)]. Survival analysis including stage, age, site of disease, and CEA level showed that these polymorphisms were not associated with survival. For the clinicopathologic parameters, CEA level and TNM stage were significant prognostic factors in a Cox model for survival. HIF-1 alpha gene polymorphisms investigated in this study were not found to be an independent prognostic marker for Korean patients with surgically resected colorectal cancer. However, further studies are warranted to clarify the role of HIF-1 alpha gene polymorphisms as a prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer patients.