While we could find no earlier documentation of these genes having an association with CRC risk, GDF7 is a ligand in the BMP pathway that has been shown to regulate the Hedgehog and Wnt pathways and has been associated with the pro-inflammatory phenotypes in many diseases including Barrett’s Esophagus [49] and esophageal adenocarcinoma [50]. Here, GDF7 is linked to Barrett esophagus.