Aim: To investigate the association between epidermal growth factor (EGF) +61A/G polymorphism and susceptibility to gastric cancer, through a cross-sectional study.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses were used to genotype EGF +61 in 207 patients with gastric lesions (162 patients with gastric adenocarcinomas, 45 with atrophy or intestinal metaplasia) and 984 controls. All subjects were Caucasian.
Results: Genotype distribution was 23.5% for GG and 76.5% for GA/AA in the control group, 18.4% for GG and 68.6% for GA/AA in the entire group with gastric lesions and 17.9% for GG and 82.1% for GA/AA in the group with gastric adenocarcinoma. No statistically significant associations were found between EGF +61 variants and risk for developing gastric cancer [odds ratios (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.90-2.21, P = 0.116]. However, the stratification of individuals by gender revealed that males carrying A alleles (EGF +61A/G or AA) had an increased risk for developing gastric cancer as compared to GG homozygous males (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.05-2.28, P = 0.021).
Conclusion: In summary, we found that males who were A carriers for EGF +61 had an increased risk for developing gastric cancer. This result may be explained by the suggestion that women secrete less gastric acid than men.
Keywords: Epidermal growth factor polymorphism; Epidermal growth factor receptor; Gastric cancer.