Polymorphism in the promoter region of lncRNA GAS5 is functionally associated with the risk of gastric cancer

Background and aims: Previous studies showed that down-regulation of GAS5 was involved in the development of gastric cancer (GC). However, the regulatory mechanism of down-expressed GAS5 in GC remains obscure. We aimed to investigate the role of rs145204276 of GAS5 in the development and metastasis process of GC. Methods: 853 GC patients and 954 healthy controls were recruited. The variant rs145204276 was genotyped and the Chi2 test was used to compare the frequency of the genotype and the allele between the patients and the controls. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated to estimate the association of rs145204276 with the risk of development and metastasis of GC. Results: Patients were found to have significantly lower rate of genotype del/del than the controls (7.2% vs. 8.9%, P = 0.016). The allele del was significantly associated with a decreased risk of GC (26.4% vs. 30.7%, P = 0.005) with an OR of 0.81 (95% CI = 0.70-0.94). Patients with allele del were less likely to develop lymph node metastasis (P = 0.01), with an OR of 0.75 (95% CI = 0.60-0.93). Comparably, rs145204276 was also significantly associated with a decreased risk of distant metastasis of GC (P = 0.007; OR = 0.55). Conclusion: We confirmed that rs145204276 of GAS5 is a functional variant associated with the susceptibility and metastasis of GC. It plays a protective role in the development of GC possibly through the regulation of GAS5. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.