Colorectal Cancer: A Review of the Genome-wide Association Studies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Genome-wise association studies (GWAS) identify risk variants and modifiers that can influence the pathophysiological processes involved in colorectal cancer (CRC) and thus are important to detect associations between disease phenotypes. Our literature review, performed as per PRISMA statement indicates a significant lack of GWAS functional studies in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, studies on sequencing and mapping are needed to identify gene variants that play a role in the pathophysiology of CRC in this specific population. Because it is not apt to generalize disease associations found in other racial and/or ethnic groups to the Arabic or Middle Eastern population, it is very important to conduct GWAS taking into account multiple ethnicities in this region. In addition, linkage studies and case–control studies that include the various confounding and epigenetic factors are needed for appropriate diagnosis of CRC. We recommend that studies in this region be conducted to understand the role of gene–environment interactions across the various ethnic groups, stages of cancer, tumor type, clinical variables, and the population risk to CRC.