In two of the five genes originally associated with CRC, we found evidence for association in AAs including rs1862748 in CDH1 (OR(Add) = 0.82, P = 0.02) and in GREM1 the SNPs rs10318 (OR(Rec) = 60.1, P = 0.01), rs11632715 (OR(Rec) = 2.36; P = 0.004) and rs12902616 (OR(Rec) = 1.28, P = 0.005), the latter which is in linkage disequilibrium with the previously identified SNP rs4779584.
This meta-analysis demonstrated that the rs4779584 and rs10318 polymorphism at 15q13.3 is a risk factor associated with increased CRC/CRA susceptibility, but these associations vary in different ethnic populations.
In conclusion, low-frequency UTR variant rs12915554 in the gene GREM1 was in relation to CRC susceptibility in a Chinese population and this variation might promote CRC development through enhancing GREM1 expression in a miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional manner.