Characteristics of study groups
| Characteristic | Healthy participants | Cancer participants | Pa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | n | 114 | 112 | <0.0001 |
| Mean (SD) | 54 (12.5) | 67 (13.6) | ||
| Male gender | n (% Male) | 70/114 (61) | 66/112 (59) | 0.70 |
| Hematocrit | n | 102 | 81 | <0.0001 |
| Mean (SD) | 0.42 (0.04) | 0.36 (0.05) | ||
| Current smoker | n (% Yes) | 41/114 (36) | 57/94 (61)b | <0.0001 |
| MTHFR C677Tb | ||||
| CC | n (%) | 43 (38) | 50 (45) | 0.57 |
| CT | n (%) | 53 (47) | 47 (42) | |
| TT | n (%) | 18 (16) | 15 (13) | |
| Region of mucosa sampled | ||||
| Right-colon | n (%) | 48/102 (47) | 45/111 (40) | 0.06 |
| Left-colon | n (%) | 37/102 (36) | 32/111 (29) | |
| Rectal | n (%) | 17/102 (17) | 34/111 (31) | |
↵aStatistical significance was calculated using t tests (mean age, hematocrit, and current smoker) and χ2 tests for all other variables. Significant P values are indicated in bold.
↵bThe MTHFR C677T genotype distribution was confirmed to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in both healthy and cancer participants.