Background: In the light of the established association of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) with several types of cancer, the possible contribution of the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism that affects ACE gene expression, in the development of colorectal cancer was investigated.
Materials and methods: DNA samples of 92 patients with colorectal cancer (adenocarcinomas) and 102 healthy controls were examined by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction followed by electrophoretic analysis. The resulting allele and genotype frequencies of the patients were compared to those of the controls by Fischer's exact test and odds ratios.
Results: No statistical differences were observed between healthy controls and patients with colorectal cancer regarding either genotype distribution or low expression I allele frequency.
Conclusion: The ACE I/D polymorphism is not a genetic predisposing factor concerning the risk for colorectal cancer.