Multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations in several genes are implicated in the multistep process of human gastric carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined the polymorphisms of six DNA repair genes: APE1, HOGG1, XRCC1, XRCC3, XPD, and XPG in patients with gastric cancer (GC).

Forty patients with GC and 247 controls were included in this study. DNA polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method.

The frequency of the Asp/Glu genotype and Glu allele of APE1 in patients with GC was significantly higher than in the control group (p=0.05). We also observed a higher frequency of the Ser/Ser genotype of HOGG1 in grade III tumors, and in tumors with metastasis to adjacent tissue and solid organs (p<0.05).

Our results suggest that (i) APE1 gene polymorphism may be associated with GC risk and (ii) HOGG1 gene polymorphism may be informative in the prognosis of GC.

PMID: 20530453 [PubMed - in process] Source: National Library of Medicine.