Vitamin D intake is negatively associated with promoter methylation of the Wnt antagonist gene DKK1 in a large group of colorectal cancer patients.

ABSTRACT: Diet and lifestyle influence colorectal cancer (CRC) risk but the molecular events that mediate these effects are poorly characterized. Several dietary and lifestyle factors can modulate DNA methylation suggesting that they may influence CRC risk through epigenetic regulation of cancer-related genes. The Wnt regulatory genes DKK1 and Wnt5a are important contributors to colonic carcinogenesis and are often silenced by promoter hypermethylation in CRC; however, the dietary contributions to these events have not been explored. To investigate the link between dietary/lifestyle factors and epigenetic regulation of these Wnt signaling genes, we assessed promoter methylation of these genes in a large cohort of Canadian CRC patients from Ontario (n = 549) and Newfoundland (n = 443) and examined as

SUBMITTER: Rawson JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4323165 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature