Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

In Canada, the burden of colorectal cancer is significant with 22,200 new cases and 8,900 deaths from it expected this year. Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in Canada. Our study aims to identify the genetic variations associated with the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients which is one of the first such studies conducted in Canada. Genetic variations are the alterations in the sequence of the genetic material (i.e. the DNA) while prognosis is course of the disease after diagnosis. In our study, we obtained the sequence information for 27 genetic variations using the DNA samples of colorectal cancer patients from Newfoundland. We then analyzed this sequence information together with the prognostic and other important disease/patient-related data using statistical methods. We found that sequence variations in 4 genes were predictive of worse survival in patients. To validate our findings, these 4 variations were analyzed in an additional group of colorectal cancer patients from Newfoundland. We again found that the sequence variation in one of the genes, the MTHFR gene, was associated with worse survival. These results indicate that the variation in the MTHFR gene is an independent predictor of prognosis in colorectal cancer patients. Pending further studies, results of this study can be valuable for clinical decision-making and patients with a greater risk of death can be subjected to an intensified surveillance and treatment regimen. In the long run, our research can help improve the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients and reduce the burden of colorectal cancer on the Canadian healthcare system and economy.