Association of the -160 C --> a promoter polymorphism of E-cadherin gene with gastric carcinoma risk.
BACKGROUND
A -160 C --> A polymorphism in the promoter region of E-cadherin has been shown to decrease gene transcription. This allelic variation might be a potential genetic marker for identifying individuals at risk for cancer. There remains no report regarding the polymorphism of E-cadherin in gastric carcinoma (GC).


METHODS
A hospital-based case-control study, including 201 GC cases and 196 unaffected controls, was performed. DNA from peripheral blood samples was examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Logistic regression analyses were used to compute odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjusted for Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, and other relevant factors.


RESULTS
In 196 healthy Taiwanese, the distribution of genotype C/C was 42.3%, C/A was 48.0%, and A/A was 9.7%. The frequency of variant A/A genotype in GC case (4 of 201, 2%) was significantly lower than that of controls (19 of 196, 9.7%) (P < 0.005), conferring a 5-fold decrease in the risk of GC (OR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.06-0.56) compared with the C/C genotype. Stratification of the GC cases according to their location (cardia and noncardia), histology (intestinal and diffuse), tumor stage (early and advanced), and lymph node metastasis (positive and negative) failed to reveal any heterogeneity with respect to E-cadherin genotype.


CONCLUSIONS
The authors' data suggest that individuals with E-cadherin -160 A/A genotype have a decreased risk of GC. Further work is mandatory to clarify the functional relevance of the A allele in vivo and to confirm the inverse association of the A/A genotype with GC in large epidemiologic studies.
Wu
Ming-Shiang
MS
Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Huang
Shih-Pei
SP
Chang
Yu-Ting
YT
Lin
Ming-Tsan
MT
Shun
Chia-Tung
CT
Chang
Ming-Chu
MC
Wang
Hsiu-Po
HP
Chen
Chien-Jen
CJ
Lin
Jaw-Town
JT
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology
D015820:Cadherins; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D005819:Genetic Markers