Promoter Polymorphisms and Methylation of E-Cadherin (CDH1) and KIT in Gastric Cancer Patients from Northern Brazil

The aim of this study was to verify genetic and epigenetic alterations in gastric cancer patients from Para state, northern Brazil. Materials and Methods: Exon 11 of KIT and two promoter polymorphisms (-160 C/A and -347 G/GA) of the E-cadherin gene (CDH1), and their correlation with the promoter methylation status were analyzed. Results: No genetic alterations in KIT were found. Promoter polymorphisms revealed an increased probability of developing gastric cancer, especially of the diffuse-type, in patients carrying -160 A and -347 GA alleles. Analyses of CDH1 methylation suggested a significant difference between hypermethylated and non-hypermethylated samples, with a positive association between the -160 A allele and hypermethylation. Conclusion: Our results suggest that -160 A and -347 GA polymorphisms may increase the chance of developing gastric cancer in the studied population and that -160 A polymorphism seems to be related to the hypermethylation pattern of the promoter region of CDH1. Gastric cancer (GC) remains the second most common cancer worldwide, despite a decline in its incidence, due to its poor prognosis and limited treatment options (1, 2). In Brazil, it is the fifth most common kind of cancer, with approximately 21,800 new estimated cases in 2008. Fatalities due to GC were the most frequently reported among cancer patients in Para state (northern Brazil) during the years of