Association between gene hypermethylation and gastric cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

The association between the hypermethylation of gene and gastric cancer risk has been investigated by a number of studies. However, the sample size of the majority of these studies was very small. To get a more a convincing conclusion, here we performed a meta-analysis of the previously published studies to assess the association between methylation and the risk of gastric cancer.

METHODS

Eligible studies were identified by searching the MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases before May 2016 without any language restriction. The strength of the association was estimated by odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

Totally 1,399 samples, including 758 gastric cancer cases and 641 controls, from 13 studies were included in the present meta-analysis. Compared with non-cancer controls, the pooled OR of methylation in gastric cancer patients was 9.08 (95% CI: 6.40-12.88, <0.001), suggesting that the methylation of was significantly associated with increased risk of gastric cancer. Similar results were observed when subgroup analyses were performed stratified by country, ethnicity, and methylation testing methods.

CONCLUSION

Our meta-analysis showed a strong positive correlation between methylation and risk of gastric cancer, suggesting that methylation might be a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of gastric cancer.