A higher dietary alpha-linolenic acid intake is associated with lower colorectal cancer risk based on MUC4 rs2246901 variant among Korean adults

Alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3 [ALA]) intake may have a beneficial effect in reducing cancer risk; however, its association with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk remains conflicted. Additionally, ALA was emphasized as being associated with mucins, an important glycoproteins family within the intestine. Thus, we hypothesized that a higher dietary ALA intake may reduce the risk of CRC and this preventive effect has an interaction with mucin 4 (MUC4) rs2246901. We conducted a case-control study at the National Cancer Center in Korea, involving 1039 cases and 1982 controls, aiming to determine the interaction of the MUC4 rs2246901 polymorphism and ALA intake in CRC risk. Dietary ALA intake was collected via semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQFFQ), categorizing by 4 quartiles. We evaluated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) through unconditional logistic regression models. Higher dietary ALA intake was found to be inversely associated with CRC risk (adjusted OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45–0.75, P for trend < .001). No significant association between MUC4 rs2246901 polymorphism and CRC risk was found. In a recessive model, MUC4 rs2246901 seemed to modify this association; participants with at least 1 major allele and higher ALA intake had a significantly lower CRC risk than those who had a lower intake (adjusted OR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.43–0.72; P interaction = .047). A higher dietary ALA was proposed as a potential protective nutrient against CRC. Moreover, this association might be influenced by presence of the MUC4 rs2246901 polymorphism.