When assessed by a priori defined functional pathways, tumor growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling was associated with CRC risk (P ≤ 0.001), with most statistically significant genes being SMAD7 (PBH = 0.008) and SMAD3 (PBH = 0.008), and 18 SNPs in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) binding sites (P = 0.036). Here, SMAD7 is linked to colorectal carcinoma.