Genetics and molecular pathology of gastric malignancy: Development of targeted therapies in the era of personalized medicine

Associations of BNIP3 and DAPK1 gene polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, clinicopathologic features, anxiety, and depression in gastric cancer patients

The purpose of this study is to explore the associations of BNIP3 and DAPK1 polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, clinicopathologic characteristics, depression, and anxiety in gastric cancer (GC) patients. In this study, 150 GC patients and 100 healthy controls were recruited. 1000 Genomes database and Haploview 4.0 software were used to select tag SNPs. Improved multiplex ligase detection reaction was used for genotyping. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test (χ² test) and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The results demonstrated that the rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model was associated with a reduced risk of GC in the younger group (P _BH = 0.015), and the minor allele G of rs1329600 at DAPK1 was associated with reduced risk of GC (P _BH = 0.018). In the stratified analysis, the rs3793742 and rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model were associated with gender and age of GC patients, respectively (rs3793742: P _BH = 0.033; rs10781582: P _BH = 0.030). The rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model was correlated with depression in GC patients (P _BH = 0.003). However, no association was found between BNIP3 and DAPK1 polymorphisms and differentiation degree, TNM stage, lymph node metastases, visceral metastasis, and anxiety. In summary, polymorphisms of BNIP3 and DAPK1 were associated with a protective effect against GC. So far, this is the first study to explore the association between BNIP3 and DAPK1 gene polymorphism and GC risk, which may provide new insight about biologic mechanisms of GC pathogenesis.

Ongoing surgical clinical trials on minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer: Korea

Since Korean Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS) group was activated in 2003, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have finished or are ongoing in Korea to evaluate oncologic safety and feasibility of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for gastric cancer by KLASS group as well as other expert surgeons. MIS in gastric cancer is regarded as one of standard treatment modality for early gastric cancer (EGC) and the indication is going expansion with the accumulation of evidence. This review covers current status of ongoing clinical trials on MIS for gastric cancer in Korea.

Protective role of Helicobacter pylori infection in prognosis of gastric cancer: evidence from 2,454 patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

A number of studies have investigated the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC), with inconsistent and inconclusive results. We performed a meta-analysis to derive a more precise estimation of the association.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Chinese wanfang databases was performed with the last search updated on February 19, 2013. The hazard ratio (HR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to assess the strength of association. A total of 12 studies including 2454 patients with GC were involved in this meta-analysis. The pooled HR was 0.71 (95%CI: 0.57-0.87; P = 0.001) for OS and 0.60 (95%CI: 0.30-1.18; P = 0.139) for DFS in GC patients, respectively. The protective role of H. pylori infection in the prognosis of GC was also observed among different subgroups stratified by ethnicity, statistical methodology, H. pylori evaluation method and quality assessment. There was no evidence of publication bias.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

This meta-analysis suggests a protective role for H. pylori infection in the prognosis of GC. The underlying mechanisms need to be further elucidated, which could provide new therapeutic approaches for GC.