Genetic susceptibility factors on genes involved in the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway and progesterone receptor for gastric cancer risk

Background

The objective of the study was to investigate the role of genes (HSD3B1, CYP17A1, CYP19A1, HSD17B2, HSD17B1) involved in the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway and progesterone receptor (PGR) in the etiology of gastric cancer in a population-based two-phase genetic association study.

Methods

In the discovery phase, 108 candidate SNPs in the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway related genes and PGR were analyzed in 76 gastric cancer cases and 322 controls in the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort. Statistically significant SNPs identified in the discovery phase were re-evaluated in an extended set of 386 cases and 348 controls. Pooled- and meta-analyses were conducted to summarize the results.

Results

Of the 108 SNPs in steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway related genes and PGR analyzed in the discovery phase, 23 SNPs in PGR in the recessive model and 10 SNPs in CYP19A1 in the recessive or additive models were significantly associated with increased gastric cancer risk (p<0.05). The minor allele frequencies of the SNPs in both the discovery and extension phases were not statistically different. Pooled- and meta-analyses showed CYP19A1 rs1004982, rs16964228, and rs1902580 had an increased risk for gastric cancer (pooled OR [95% CI] = 1.22 [1.01–1.48], 1.31 [1.03–1.66], 3.03 [1.12–8.18], respectively). In contrast, all PGR SNPs were not statistically significantly associated with gastric cancer risk.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest CYP19A1 that codes aromatase may play an important role in the association of gastric cancer risk and be a genetic marker for gastric cancer susceptibility.

Interaction effects between genes involved in the AKT signaling pathway and phytoestrogens in gastric carcinogenesis: a nested case-control study from the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort

SCOPE

To investigate whether genes involved in AKT/nuclear factor kappa B signaling and/or gene-environment interactions between the genes and phytoestrogens may be susceptible factors for gastric cancer.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The representative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified during the primary analysis (screening a total of 622 SNPs within ± 5 kbp of the 51 target gene locations) were further investigated in 317 matched case-control sets. The summary odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for gastric cancer were calculated. Interaction effects between the SNPs and phytoestrogen biomarkers (genistein, daidzein, equol, and enterolactone) were computed. CDK1 rs4145643, FAS rs6586161, and FAS rs1468063 in the AKT signaling pathway presented significant genetic effects on gastric cancer (OR = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.66-0.99) for CDK1 rs4145643; OR = 1.27 (95% CI: 1.03-1.58) for FAS rs6586161; OR = 1.29 (95% CI: 1.03-1.56) for FAS rs1468063; Cochran Q statistics > 0.10). Risk alleles of FAS rs6586161, FAS rs1468063, MAP3K1 rs16886448, and MAP3K1 rs252902 showed significant interaction effects with enterolactone (p(interaction) < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

CDK1 and FAS genes involved in AKT signaling and influenced by anti-carcinogenic property of phytoestrogens can play a role as susceptible genetic factors in gastric carcinogenesis. FAS and MAP3K1 genes significantly interact with enterolactone, thereby modifying the individual's risk for gastric cancer.

Alcohol consumption and mortality in the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort Study

Objectives

To examine the association between alcohol consumption habit, types of beverages, alcohol consumption quantity, and overall and cancer-specific mortality among Korean adults.

Methods

The alcohol consumption information of a total of 16 320 participants who were 20 years or older from the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort were analyzed to examine the association between alcohol consumption habit and mortality (median follow-up of 9.3 years). The Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of alcohol consumption to mortality adjusting for age, sex, geographic areas, education, smoking status, and body mass index.

Results

Alcohol drinkers showed an increased risk for total mortality compared with never drinkers (HR, 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 2.14 for past drinkers; HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.39 for current drinkers), while past drinkers only were associated with higher risk for cancer deaths (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.34 to 2.53). The quantity of alcohol consumed per week showed a J-shaped association with risk of mortality. Relative to light drinkers (0.01 to 90 g/wk), never drinkers and heavy drinkers (>504 g/wk) had an increased risk for all-cause and cancer deaths: (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.45) and (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.83) for all-cause mortality; and (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.11) and (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.39 to 3.09) for all cancer mortality, respectively. Heavy drinkers (>504 g/wk) showed an elevated risk for death from stomach and liver cancers.

Conclusions

The present study supports the existence of a J-shaped association between alcohol consumption quantity and the risk of all-cause and cancer deaths. Heavy drinkers had an increased risk of death from cancer overall and liver and stomach cancer.

A simple prediction score for kidney disease in the Korean population

AIM

Screening algorithms for chronic kidney disease have been developed and validated in American populations. Given the worldwide burden of kidney disease, developing algorithms for populations outside the USA is needed.

METHODS

Using simple, non-invasive questions, we developed a prediction model for chronic kidney disease from national population samples in Korea. The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n = 6565) was used for model development while validation was performed in two independent population samples, internal (n = 2921) and external datasets (n = 8166). Chronic kidney disease was defined as glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2).

RESULTS

Seven factors - age, female gender, anaemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and proteinuria - were significantly associated with prevalent chronic kidney disease. Integer scores were assigned to variables based on the magnitude of associations: 2 for age 50-59 years, 3 for age 60-69 years and 4 for age 70 years or older, and 1 for female gender, anaemia, hypertension, diabetes, proteinuria and cardiovascular dis ase. Based on the Youden index, a value of 4 or greater defined a high risk population with sensitivity 89%, specificity 71%, and positive predictive value 19%, and negative predictive value 99%. The area under the curve was 0.83 for the development set, and 0.87 and 0.78 in the two validation datasets.

CONCLUSION

This prediction algorithm, weighted towards common non-invasive variables, had good performance characteristics in an Asian population, and provides new evidence of the similarity of the algorithms for Western and Eastern populations.

Genetic susceptibility on CagA-interacting molecules and gene-environment interaction with phytoestrogens: a putative risk factor for gastric cancer

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether genes that encode CagA-interacting molecules (SRC, PTPN11, CRK, CRKL, CSK, c-MET and GRB2) are associated with gastric cancer risk and whether an interaction between these genes and phytoestrogens modify gastric cancer risk.

METHODS

In the discovery phase, 137 candidate SNPs in seven genes were analyzed in 76 incident gastric cancer cases and 322 matched controls from the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort. Five significant SNPs in three genes (SRC, c-MET and CRK) were re-evaluated in 386 cases and 348 controls in the extension phase. Odds ratios (ORs) for gastric cancer risk were estimated adjusted for age, smoking, H. pylori seropositivity and CagA strain positivity. Summarized ORs in the total study population (462 cases and 670 controls) were presented using pooled- and meta-analysis. Plasma concentrations of phytoestrogens (genistein, daidzein, equol and enterolactone) were measured using the time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay.

RESULTS

SRC rs6122566, rs6124914, c-MET rs41739, and CRK rs7208768 showed significant genetic effects for gastric cancer in both the pooled and meta-analysis without heterogeneity (pooled OR = 3.96 [95% CI 2.05-7.65], 1.24 [95% CI = 1.01-1.53], 1.19 [95% CI = 1.01-1.41], and 1.37 [95% CI = 1.15-1.62], respectively; meta OR = 4.59 [95% CI 2.74-7.70], 1.36 [95% CI = 1.09-1.70], 1.20 [95% CI = 1.00-1.44], and 1.32 [95% CI = 1.10-1.57], respectively). Risk allele of CRK rs7208768 had a significantly increased risk for gastric cancer at low phytoestrogen levels (p interaction<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that SRC, c-MET and CRK play a key role in gastric carcinogenesis by modulating CagA signal transductions and interaction between CRK gene and phytoestrogens modify gastric cancer risk.

Abstract 4675: Alcohol consumption and mortality in the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort (KMCC) Study

Objectives: To examine the association between alcohol consumption, types of beverages, alcohol amount and total and some diseases mortality among Korean adults.

Methods: Patients included 16,257 subjects of the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort who were cancer-free at baseline enrollment reported their lifestyle factors between 1993 and 2008, including the status of alcohol consumption primarily from the national death certificate. Alcohol consumption (ie, soju, beer, raw rice wine) was assessed at cohort entry using a questionnaire. Two hundred sixty-eight were excluded on the grounds that they were founded out as having no data about alcohol consumption. Final study populations are 15,989. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of alcohol consumption for total mortality as adjusted for age, gender, the geographic area and the smoking status, the education level and the body mass index (BMI).

Results: The number of total death was one Thousand ninety-three after an average follow-up of 8.8 years. During the follow-up period, including 483 cancer mortality cases with a total of 151,150 person-years, 6,736 subjects (42.1%) were considered as drinkers (the sum of current and past drinkers) and the majority drank soju (90.9%). Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with an increased risk of total mortality (p-trend, &lt; 0.05, &lt;0.005, &lt;0.05, respectively). Past and current drinkers compared with no drinkers was associated with an increased risk of total mortality (past drinker: HR, 1.40; 95% CI: 1.1 to 1.7, current drinker: HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.0 to 1.4). The risk of mortality appeared to be increased among current smoking (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.27 to 1.79) and old (HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.09) and lived women in some specific areas. The amount of alcohol intake was associated with total mortality (&lt;25g/wk; HR: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.3-0.5, &gt;504g/wk; HR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1 to 1.6) and disease-specific mortalities which were included total cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer and esophageal cancer and liver disease. Added to this, it was founded that liver cancer, pancreas and colon cancer might have significant relationship with mortality and it was depended on alcohol amount. And soju was founded out as having an increased risk of mortality regardless of drinking with other beverages together. Also, drinkers had increased risk of mortality due to liver cancer and liver disease. In addition to, soju drinking only without any other beverages had the increased risk of mortality with liver disease.

Conclusions: Consuming alcohol may increase the risk of total mortality and mortality of liver cancer and liver disease, particularly among soju drinkers, yet the significant relationship between alcohol amount and mortality of some specific diseases were suggested.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4675. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4675

Control of the haemodynamic response to surgical stimuli in semi-closed circuit or closed circuit anaesthesia using a multifunctional anaesthesia system

This study compared the ability of the Zeus multifunctional anaesthesia system to control haemodynamic response to surgical stimulation in semi-closed (SCA) or closed circuit anaesthesia (CCA) modes. Fifty patients undergoing gynaecological surgery were randomly assigned to SCA or CCA. Anaesthesia was induced with 2 mg propofol and 0.9 mg/kg rocuronium, intravenously, and maintained using sevoflurane (minimum alveolar concentration [MAC], 1.0) using 2 l/min oxygen plus 2 l/min nitrous oxide (SCA 4 l/min group) or 50% oxygen plus 50% nitrous oxide (CCA group). An increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) > 20% above baseline in response to surgical stimulation provoked a stepwise increase in sevoflurane (1.3 MAC and then 1.6 MAC), followed by fentanyl 1 pg/kg intravenously (rescue drug). The time required for MAP to return to within 10% of baseline was significantly shorter in the CCA group (6.4 +/- 3.6 min) compared with the SCA 4 l/min group (10.2 +/- 6.0 min). The percentage of patients requiring fentanyl was significantly greater in the SCA 4 l/min group than in the CCA group. In conclusion, CCA controlled acute haemodynamic responses to surgical stimuli more successfully and rapidly than SCA 4 l/min, using a multifunctional anaesthesia machine.

Scaling theory for unipolar resistance switching

We investigate a reversible percolation system showing unipolar resistance switching in which percolating paths are created and broken alternately by the application of an electric bias. Owing to the dynamical changes in the percolating paths, different from those in classical percolating paths, a detailed understanding of the structure is demanding and challenging. Here, we develop a scaling theory that can explain the transport properties of these conducting paths; the theory is based on the fractal geometry of a percolating cluster. This theory predicts that two scaling behaviors emerge, depending on the topologies of the conducting paths. We confirm these theoretical predictions experimentally by observing material-independent universal scaling behaviors in unipolar resistance switching.

Search for R-parity violating decays of sneutrinos to eμ, μτ, and eτ pairs in pp collisions at square root s = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for supersymmetric neutrino ν production using the Tevatron pp collision data collected with the CDF II detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1 fb-1. We focus on the scenarios predicted by the R-parity violating (RPV) supersymmetric models in which sneutrinos decay to two charged leptons of different flavor. With the data consistent with the standard model expectations, we set upper limits on σ(pp→ν)×BR(ν→eμ,μτ,eτ) and use these results to constrain the RPV couplings as a function of the sneutrino mass.

Search for new physics with a dijet plus missing E(T) signature in pp collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We present results of a signature-based search for new physics using a dijet plus missing transverse energy (E(T)) data sample collected in 2  fb⁻¹ of pp collisions at √s=1.96  TeV with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We observe no significant event excess with respect to the standard model prediction and extract a 95% C.L. upper limit on the cross section times acceptance for a potential contribution from a nonstandard model process. The search is made by using novel, data-driven techniques for estimating backgrounds that are applicable to first searches at the LHC.

Exclusion of an exotic top quark with -4/3 electric charge using soft lepton tagging

We present a measurement of the electric charge of the top quark using pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb(-1) at the CDF II detector. We reconstruct tt events in the lepton + jets final state. We use soft lepton taggers to determine the flavor of the b jets, which we use to reconstruct the top quark's electric charge and exclude an exotic top quark with -4/3 charge at 95% confidence level. This is the strongest exclusion of the exotic charge scenario and the first to use soft leptons for this purpose.

Search for the production of scalar bottom quarks in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV

We report on a search for direct scalar bottom quark (sbottom) pair production in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV, in events with large missing transverse energy and two jets of hadrons in the final state, where at least one of the jets is required to be identified as originating from a b quark. The study uses a collider detector at Fermilab Run II data sample corresponding to 2.65 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity. The data are in agreement with the standard model. In an R-parity conserving minimal supersymmetric scenario, and assuming that the sbottom decays exclusively into a bottom quark and a neutralino, 95% confidence-level upper limits on the sbottom pair production cross section of 0.1 pb are obtained. For neutralino masses below 70 GeV/c2, sbottom masses up to 230 GeV/c2 are excluded at 95% confidence level.

Isoflavones from phytoestrogens and gastric cancer risk: a nested case-control study within the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort

BACKGROUND

The role of soybean products in gastric cancer risk is not clear in epidemiologic studies due to measurement error from dietary intake questionnaires and due to different degrees of bias according to study design. To examine the association between soybean products and gastric cancer risk, we measured phytoestrogen biological markers in a nested case-control study.

METHODS

The study population was composed of 131 cases and 393 matched controls within the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort. The concentrations of the four biomarkers in the plasma samples were measured using time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay. Conditional and unconditional logistic regression models were used to compute the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Median plasma concentrations of genistein (229 nmol/L for controls, 181.8 nmol/L for cases; P=0.07) and daidzein (131.2 nmol/L for controls, 80.5 nmol/L for cases; P=0.04) in cases were lower than in controls, whereas equol concentrations were similar. Compared with the reference group, gastric cancer risk decreased in the highest groups for genistein (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31-0.93) and daidzein (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.08-0.58). Higher equol concentrations were associated with a decreased risk for gastric cancer (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.27-0.90). The combination of the highest concentrations for each isoflavone category was associated with a 0.09-fold decreased risk for gastric cancer compared with the combination of the lowest concentrations for each category. There was no association between plasma lignan concentrations and gastric cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

High serum concentrations of isoflavones were associated with a decreased risk for gastric cancer.

IMPACT

These results suggest a beneficial effect of high soybean product intake for gastric cancer risk.

Pain assessment and management in medical wards: an area of unmet need

BACKGROUND

Acute Pain Services (APS) were introduced primarily to improve postoperative pain management. Although pain is similar in prevalence and severity in medical and surgical wards, its assessment and management in non-surgical patients often receives less attention and resources.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the extent of APS involvement on medical wards and obtain perceptions of deficiencies.

METHOD

A questionnaire was mailed to APS leads in 287 UK NHS hospitals; 229 questionnaires were returned (79.8% response).

RESULTS

Only 36 (16%) of the 225 hospitals with medical wards reported routine APS involvement. Pain scores were not recorded in 75 (33%) hospitals, 11 (5%) denied knowledge about assessments being conducted, and 185 (82.2%) respondents felt that pain management on medical wards was inadequate.

CONCLUSIONS

Perceived lack of training and awareness of healthcare staff were highly ranked contributing factors, and this was attributed to inadequate funding. This study highlights the scope for improvement of pain control in medical patients, with benefits from reduced morbidity and faster recovery.

Measurement of W-boson polarization in Top-Quark Decay in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV

We report measurements of the polarization of W bosons from top-quark decays using 2.7 fb{-1} of pp collisions collected by the CDF II detector. Assuming a top-quark mass of 175  GeV/c{2}, three measurements are performed. A simultaneous measurement of the fraction of longitudinal (f{0}) and right-handed (f{+}) W bosons yields the model-independent results f{0}=0.88±0.11(stat)±0.06(syst) and f{+}=-0.15±0.07(stat)±0.06(syst) with a correlation coefficient of -0.59. A measurement of f{0} [f{+}] constraining f{+} [f{0}] to its standard model value of 0.0 [0.7] yields f{0}=0.70±0.07(stat)±0.04(syst) [f{+}=-0.01±0.02(stat)±0.05(syst)]. All these results are consistent with standard model expectations. We achieve the single most precise measurements of f{0} for both the model-independent and model-dependent determinations.

[Cigarette smoking and mortality in the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort (KMCC) study]

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between cigarette smoking and total mortality, cancer mortality and other disease mortalities in Korean adults.

METHODS

A total of 14,161 subjects of the Korean Multi-center Cancer Cohort who were over 40 years of age and who were cancer-free at baseline enrollment reported their lifestyle factors, including the smoking status. The median follow-up time was 6.6 years. During the follow-up period from 1993 to 2005, we identified 1159 cases of mortality, including 260 cancer mortality cases with a total of 91,987 person-years, by the national death certificate. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of cigarette smoking for total mortality, cancer mortality and disease-specific mortality, as adjusted for age, gender, the geographic area and year of enrollment, the alcohol consumption status, the education level and the body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS

Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with an increased risk of total mortality, all-cancer mortality and lung cancer mortality (p-trend, <0.01, <0.01, <0.01, respectively). Compared to non-smoking, current smokers were at a higher risk for mortality [HR (95% CI)=1.3 (1.1-1.5) for total mortality; HR (95% CI)=1.6 (1.1-2.2) for all-cancer mortality; HR (95% CI)=3.9 (1.9-7.7) for lung cancer mortality].

CONCLUSIONS

This study's results suggest that cigarette smoking might be associated with total mortality, all-cancer mortality and especially lung cancer mortality among Korean adults.

Measurement of the ratio σ{tt}/σ{Z/γ{*}→ll} and precise extraction of the tt cross section

We report a measurement of the ratio of the tt to Z/γ{*} production cross sections in sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV pp collisions using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 4.6  fb{-1}, collected by the CDF II detector. The tt cross section ratio is measured using two complementary methods, a b-jet tagging measurement and a topological approach. By multiplying the ratios by the well-known theoretical Z/γ{*}→ll cross section predicted by the standard model, the extracted tt cross sections are effectively insensitive to the uncertainty on luminosity. A best linear unbiased estimate is used to combine both measurements with the result σ{tt}=7.70±0.52  pb, for a top-quark mass of 172.5  GeV/c{2}.

Search for pair production of supersymmetric top quarks in dilepton events from pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV

We present the results of a search for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark (the top squark t{1}) decaying to a b quark and a chargino χ{1}{±} with a subsequent χ{1}{±} decay into a neutralino χ{1}{0}, lepton ℓ, and neutrino ν. Using a data sample corresponding to 2.7  fb{-1} of integrated luminosity of pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96  TeV collected by the CDF II detector, we reconstruct the mass of top squark candidate events and fit the observed mass spectrum to a combination of standard model processes and t{1}t{1} signal. We find no evidence for t{1}t{1} production and set 95% C.L. limits on the masses of the top squark and the neutralino for several values of the chargino mass and the branching ratio B(χ{1}{±}→χ{1}{0}ℓ{±}ν).

Search for WW and WZ resonances decaying to electron, missing E(T), and two jets in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV

Using data from 2.9  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the CDF II detector at the Tevatron, we search for resonances decaying into a pair of on-shell gauge bosons, WW or WZ, where one W decays into an electron and a neutrino, and the other boson decays into two jets. We observed no statistically significant excess above the expected standard model background, and we set cross section limits at 95% confidence level on G* (Randall-Sundrum graviton), Z', and W' bosons. By comparing these limits to theoretical cross sections, mass exclusion regions for the three particles are derived. The mass exclusion regions for Z' and W' are further evaluated as a function of their gauge coupling strength.

Measurement of the W+ W- production cross section and search for anomalous WWγ and WWZ couplings in pp collisions at square root(s)=1.96 TeV

This Letter describes the current most precise measurement of the W boson pair production cross section and most sensitive test of anomalous WWγ and WWZ couplings in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The WW candidates are reconstructed from decays containing two charged leptons and two neutrinos. Using data collected by the CDF II detector from 3.6  fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, a total of 654 candidate events are observed with an expected background of 320±47 events. The measured cross section is σ(pp→W+ W- +X)=12.1±0.9(stat)-1.4+1.6(syst)  pb, which is in good agreement with the standard model prediction. The same data sample is used to place constraints on anomalous WWγ and WWZ couplings.

Abstract 2845: Candidate genes related to CagA signal transduction pathway and risk of gastric cancer: A nested case-control study

Objectives: Cytotoxin-associated antigen (CagA) produced by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays a role in gastric carcinogenesis, but the role of genes coding proteins in the CagA pathway remains unclear. This genetic association study aimed to evaluate which genes involved in CagA signal transduction pathway are associated with gastric cancer development.

Methods: By literature reviews, we selected 34 candidate genes involved in CagA signal transduction pathway and screened a total of 580 SNPs within +/- 5kbp of target gene location. Within the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort (KMCC), a 100 incident gastric cancer cases were matched to a cancer-free subject by age, sex, residential area and enrollment. Both raw and permutated p-values by 10,000 permutation tests were computed using the LRT with 1 degree of freedom in the trend model. Gastric cancer risk was estimated as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for age, smoking status, H. pylori infection, and CagA IgG antibody positivity in each genetic model.

Results: Twenty five SNPs in 8 genes, Erk, Dock180, C3G, Rap1, Src, CrkL, Mek and Crk, were significantly associated with gastric cancer risk in the single SNP analysis (p&lt;0.05). Specifically, Erk rs5999749 and Dock180 rs9418677 remained significant after correction of multiple comparisons. Except for Dock180 rs9418677 and Rap1 rs17028287, most SNPs downstream CagA/Crk signaling (Dock180, C3G, Rap1 and Mek) were significantly associated with a reduced risk for gastric cancer.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that genes involved in the CagA signal transduction pathway can be major susceptible factors related to tyrosine kinase action, especially interaction with Crk. Further replication studies with wider genomic coverage and a greater number of subjects are still needed.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2845.

Search for the Higgs boson using neural networks in events with missing energy and b-quark jets in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV

We report on a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at square root(s)=1.96 TeV recorded by the CDF II experiment at the Tevatron in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb(-1). We consider events which have no identified charged leptons, an imbalance in transverse momentum, and two or three jets where at least one jet is consistent with originating from the decay of a b hadron. We find good agreement between data and background predictions. We place 95% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section for several Higgs boson masses ranging from 110 GeV/c(2) to 150 GeV/c(2). For a mass of 115 GeV/c(2) the observed (expected) limit is 6.9 (5.6) times the standard model prediction.