It is thought that sex steroids may be partially responsible for the higher incidence rates and risks of colorectal cancer (CRC) in men compared to women. In this German case-control study (based on the DACHS study), Sainz and colleagues studied 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in sex steroid hormone signaling, transport or metabolism genes. They found that the most significant association of risk for developing CRC in women was with two variants of ESR2, the gene that encodes estrogen receptor-beta, suggesting that estrogen influences normal colonic functionality. Other genes with alleles which may modify risk of CRC development in men and women were HSD17B1, ABCB1 and SHBG. Sainz et al. (2011) Endocrine-Related Cancer 18 (2) 265 -276.

Read the full article at: DOI:10.1530/ERC-10-0264