Polymorphisms in promoter region of FAS and FASL gene and risk of gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma

Background and Aim: The FAS and FASL system play an important role in regulating apoptotic cell death. This study was designed to investigate the correlation of FAS-1377 G/A, -670 A/G and FASL-844 T/C polymorphisms with susceptibility to gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma in a population of a high-incidence region of Hebei Province. Methods: FAS-1377 G/A, -670 A/G and FASL-844 T/C polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 262 gastric cardiac carcinoma (GCA) patients and 524 healthy controls. Results: Family history of upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGIC) might increase the risk of developing GCA (age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-1.86). The overall allelotype and genotype distributions of FAS-1377 G/A, and FASL-844 T/C polymorphisms in GCA patients did not significantly differ from that in healthy controls (P > 0.05). Compared with individuals with a FAS-670 A/A genotype, individuals with an A/G genotype in a smoker group had a lower risk of developing GCA (age, sex, and family history of UGIC adjusted OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.34-0.88). When the genotypes of FAS and FASL single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were combined to analyze, no significant correlation was found between these SNP and the risk for GCA development. Conclusion: In the high-incidence region of Hebei Province, FAS-1377 G/A and FASL-844 T/C polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of GCA. However, the FAS-670 A/G genotype might decrease the risk of GCA for smoker individuals.