The association between the survivin C-31G polymorphism and gastric cancer risk in a Chinese population.

Introduction: The C-31G polymorphism in the survivin promoter could de-repress the cell-cycle-dependent transcription of the human survivin gene, resulting in overexpression of survivin. This survivin mutation has only been studied on cervical carcinoma. However, no study has ever been conducted to evaluate the effect of the polymorphism on other cancers, including gastric cancer.

Methods: In this hospital-based, case-control study, we investigated the association between the survivin C-31G polymorphism and risk of gastric cancer in a Chinese population using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) protocols.

Results: No statistically significant association was observed between gastric cancer risk and the variant genotype (GG + GC). However, the variant genotype (GG + GC) was either associated with risk of distal gastric cancer (odds ratios=0.50, 95% confidence interval=0.30-0.83) or with risk of well-differentiated tumor (odds ratios=0.46, 95% confidence interval=0.22-0.97).

Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the survivin C-31G polymorphism may be involved in distal gastric carcinogenesis and tumor differentiation in a Chinese population.