Epithelial Cellular Adhesion Molecule rs1126497 Polymorphism Contributes to Gastric Cancer Susceptibility: A Case-Control Study

摘要

Epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EPCAM) is known to be related to cell adhesion and to influence morphogenesis, metastasis, and carcinogenesis. However, the association between EPCAM gene polymorphisms and gastric cancer (GC) risk has not been studied. The present study investigated the effects of EPCAM single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on GC risk. Two EPCAM SNPs, rs1126497 (C > T) and rs1421 (A > G), were analyzed in 510 GC patients and 510 healthy controls using TaqMan methodology. The T allele of rs1126497 was more frequent in GC cases than in controls (P < 0.001, adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31-2.02). The CT and TT genotypes increased the risk of GC compared with the CC genotype (CT vs. CC P < 0.001, adjusted OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.55-2.63; TT vs. CC P = 0.031, adjusted OR = 2.78, 95% CI=2.10-7.04). The variant genotypes (CT+TT) of rs1126497 were also associated with increased susceptibility to GC (p<0.001, adjusted OR=2.05, 95% CI=1.58-2.66). Stratified analysis showed a more profound association between GC risk and rs1126497 variant genotypes among older individuals, men, smokers, and both rural and urban subjects. The variant genotypes (CT + TT) of rs1126497 also significantly increased the risk of GC in subjects with moderate or poor differentiation (P = 0.047, adjusted OR = 2.91, 95% CI = 1.01-8.35; P = 0.034, adjusted OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.08-7.25). There was no significant correlation between the rs1421 polymorphismand GC risk. Fifty normal tissues were used to evaluate the association between the expression level of EPCAM and the rs1126497/rs1421 polymorphism, which indicated higher expression levels of EPCAM among T allele carriers (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that the EPCAM rs1126497 polymorphism contributes to increase susceptibility to GC, and that the T allele is an independent risk factor for GC.