Background: Xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes (XME) play a critical role in the activation and detoxification of several carcinogens. However, the role of XMEs in colorectal carcinogenesis is unclear.
Methods: We investigated the expression of XMEs in human colorectal tissues among patients with stage I-IV colorectal cancer (n = 71) from the ColoCare Study. Transcriptomic profiling using paired colorectal tumor and adjacent normal mucosa tissues of XMEs (GSTM1, GSTA1, UGT1A8, UGT1A10, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, GSTP1, and CYP2W1) by RNA microarray was compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.
We assessed associations between dinicopathologic, dietary, and lifestyle factors and XME expression with linear regression models. Results: GSTM1, GSTA1, UGT1A8, UGT1A10, and CYP3A4 were all statistically significantly downregulated in colorectal tumor relative to normal mucosa tissues (all P 1 x /week) was associated with higher CYP3A4 expression in colorectal tumor tissues (beta = 0.14, P = 0.007).
Conclusions: XMEs have lower expression in colorectal tumor relative to normal mucosa tissues and may modify colorectal carcinogenesis via associations with clinicopathologic, lifestyle, and dietary factors. Impact: Better understanding into the role of drug-metabolizing enzymes in colorectal cancer may reveal biological differences that contribute to cancer development, as well as treatment response, leading to clinical implications in colorectal cancer prevention and management.