Association of the hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha gene polymorphisms with gastric cancer in Tibetans.

To determine how single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) gene coding regions affect gastric cancer, the authors conducted an association study of the HIF-1alpha polymorphisms C1772T and G1790A for a Tibet population. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of 87 gastric cancer patients and 106 controls and analyzed using the polymerase chain reaction/ligase detection reaction test for HIF-1alpha polymorphisms. There was a significant increase in the frequency of the GA 1790 genotype in patients with gastric cancer compared with healthy controls (OR 2.93; 95% CI 1.06-8.06). The genotype frequency of the HIF-1alpha G1790A allele A is higher in gastric cancer groups than in controls (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.03-7.45). As for the C1772T polymorphism, no positive correlation was found between gastric cancer patients and controls (P = 0.06). Our results suggest that the HIF-1alpha G1790A polymorphism may be associated with gastric cancer in Tibetans.