Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the sixth among women, except for non-melanoma skin tumors, in Brazil. Epidemiological evidences reveal the multifactorial etiology of this cancer, highlighting risk factors such as: infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, advanced age, smoking, chronic alcohol abuse, eating habits and genetic polymorphisms. Considering the context of genetic polymorphisms, there is the absence of the GSTM1 gene. The lack of GSTM1 function to detoxify xenobiotics and promote defense against oxidative stress leads to increased DNA damage, promoting gastric carcinogenesis. This process is multifactorial and the development of gastric cancer results from a complex interaction of these variables.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of GSTM1 null polymorphism in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer.
Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted from 70 articles collected in SciELO and PubMed databases, between September 2015 and July 2016. In order to evaluate a possible association, we used the odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval of 95% (CI 95%). To assess the heterogeneity of the studies was used the chi-square test. Statistical analysis was performed using the BioEstat® 5.3.
Results: This study included 70 studies of case-control, including 28,549 individuals, which were assessed for the null polymorphism of the GSTM1 gene, and of which 11,208 (39.26%) were cases and 17,341 (60.74%) were controls. The final analysis showed that the presence of the GSTM1 gene acts as a protective factor against the development of gastric cancer (OR=0.788; 95%CI 0.725-0.857; P<0.0001). Positive statistical association was found in Asia (OR=0.736; 95%CI 0.670-0.809; P<0.0001) and Eurasia (OR=0.671; 95%CI 0.456-0.988; P=0.05). However, statistically significant data was not obtained in Europe (OR=1.033; 95%CI 0.873-1.222; P=0.705) and America (OR=0.866; 95%CI 0.549-1.364; P=0.534). Therefore, the results can not be deduced around the world.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis concluded that the presence of the GSTM1 gene is a protector for the emergence of gastric cancer, especially in Asian countries, but this result was not found in Europe and America.