No association of an SDHC gene polymorphism with gastric cancer

It is widely reported that reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause apotosis and carcinogenesis. Marked infiltration of activated leukocyte and enhanced production of ROS appear to occur in the gastric mucosa infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). The previous studies reported that the mutation of the succinate dehydrogenase subunit C (SDHC) gene caused the increase in superoxide anion (O(2)(-)) and oxidative stress. To extend these findings, we epidemiologically investigated the association of a SDHC polymorphism at 3'-untranslated region of exon 6 (JST173800) with H. pylori infection, gastric atrophy and gastric cancer risk in Japan. The subjects consisted of 454 health checkup examinees without a history of cancer and 202 gastric cancer patients. The SDHC polymorphism was not associated with H. pylori infection seropositivity, gastric atrophy, and cancer risk in this study. Although the polymorphism at the 3'-untranslated region could be hypothesized to be functional, this study did not demonstrate any significant association of the SDHC gene polymorphism with gastric atrophy and cancer.