HMGCR and cancer: Additionally, it will be determined how the rs12916 HMGCR polymorphism, which codes for a protein that statins target, affects the chance of developing cancer, Orho Melander and colleagues [140] investigated a range of 26 to 41 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in genes responsible for encoding proteins that play a role in cholesterol and its fraction synthesis.