ArticleGut2012
TERC polymorphisms are associated both with susceptibility to colorectal cancer and with longer telomeres.
Article in Gut, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between telomere length and the risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies.BMC cancer · 2017Pooled it
- Increased lung cancer risk associated with the TERT rs2736100 polymorphism: an updated meta-analysis.Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine · 2014Pooled it
- A genome-wide association study identifies multiple susceptibility loci for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Nature genetics · 2014Pooled it
- Network-based SNP meta-analysis identifies joint and disjoint genetic features across common human diseases.BMC genomics · 2012Pooled it
- Telomere length, genetic variants and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck in Southeast Chinese.Scientific reports · 2016Trial
- Association of TERC and OBFC1 haplotypes with mean leukocyte telomere length and risk for coronary heart disease.PloS one · 2013Trial
- Genetic Determinants of Telomere Length and Their Role in Human Disease: Molecular Mechanisms and Underrepresented Populations' Perspectives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Leukocyte Telomere Length Variants Are Independently Associated with Survival of Patients with Colorectal Cancer.Cancers · 2026Article
- Telomere length promotes colorectal cancer through dual parallel pathways involving growth signaling and protein metabolism.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Telomeres, telomerase, and cancer: mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutics.Experimental hematology & oncology · 2025Review
- Identification of polymorphic alleles in TERC and TERT gene reprogramming the telomeres of newborn and legacy with parental health.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2024Article
- Article
- The Influence ofJournal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Posttransplant Complications and Genetic Loci Involved in Telomere Maintenance in Heart Transplant Patients.Genes · 2022Article
- Relative Leukocyte Telomere Length and Telomerase Complex Regulatory Markers Association with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- Variability in newborn telomere length is explained by inheritance and intrauterine environment.BMC medicine · 2022Observational
- Review
- Article
- Review
- Natural variation in plant telomere length is associated with flowering time.The Plant cell · 2021Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsShorter telomeres have been associated with increased risk of malignancy, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Telomere length is heritable and may be an intermediate phenotype linked to genetic susceptibility to CRC.
methodsIn a large sample, the study investigated whether candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 'telomere biology' genes were associated with telomere length in leucocytes. SNP associated with an increased risk of CRC were searched for separately.
resultsCarriers of the common allele at SNP rs10936599, near the telomerase RNA component (TERC) locus, had significantly longer telomeres. It was independently found that the same rs10936599 allele was associated with increased risk of both CRC and colorectal adenomas. Neither telomere length nor CRC risk was associated with variation near telomerase reverse transcriptase or other telomere biology genes. In silico analysis showed that SNP rs2293607 was strongly correlated with rs10936599, mapped within TERC transcripts, had a predicted effect on messenger RNA folding and lay at a reported transcription factor binding site. TERC mRNA were expressed, differing only at the alleles of rs2293607, in CRC cell line HCT116. The long-telomere/CRC-risk allele was associated with higher levels of TERC mRNA and the formation of longer telomeres.
conclusionsCommon genetic variation at TERC is associated with both longer telomeres and an increased risk of CRC, a potential mechanism being reduced levels of cell senescence or death. This finding is somewhat paradoxical, given retrospective studies reporting that CRC cases have shorter telomeres than controls. One possibility is that that association actually results from poorer survival in patients with longer telomeres.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.