Increased Risk for Gastric Cancer in Carriers of the Lymphotoxin-α+252G Variant Infected by Helicobacter pylori

The objective of this study is to determine whether polymorphisms in the lymphotoxin-alpha (LTA) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) genes were associated with gastric cancer (GC) in a Chinese population. One hundred ninety-six patients with GC and 248 healthy individuals were enrolled in this case control study. The LTA 252G was associated with an increased risk of GC, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.74 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-2.69) for the LTA 252G heterozygotes and 2.42 (95% CI: 1.28-4.58) for the LTA 252G homozygotes as compared with noncarriers. In contrast, such association is not found in polymorphisms in IL-10; however, a potential interaction between LTA +252 G allele and IL-10-1082 G/A was found to be associated with the occurrence of GC (adjusted OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.01-3.64). This study indicates that the LTA +252G allele is associated with increased risk for the presence of GC in a Helicobacter pylori infection positive subgroup and potential interaction between IL-10 and LTA may contribute to the risk of GC.