Risk of gastric cancer is associated with PRKAA1 gene polymorphisms in Koreans.

Aim: To evaluate the association between genetic polymorphisms of the gene encoding AMP-activated protein kinase (PRKAA1) and the risk of gastric cancer.

Methods: The study subjects consisted of 477 age- and sex-matched case-control pairs. Genotyping was performed for 5 tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs13361707, rs154268, rs3805486, rs6882903, and rs10074991. Associations between gastric cancer and putative risk factors (including the SNPs) were analyzed with multivariate conditional logistic regression models, after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Multiple testing corrections were implemented following methodology for controlling the false discovery rate. Gene-based association tests were performed by using the versatile gene-based association study (VEGAS) method.

Results: In the dominant model, SNPs rs13361707 [odds ratio (OR) = 1.51, 95%CI: 1.07-2.11)], rs154268 (OR = 1.65, 95%CI: 1.22-2.22), rs6882903 (OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.09-2.00), and rs10074991 (OR = 1.53, 95%CI: 1.09-2.16) were significantly associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. In the recessive model, SNPs rs154268 (OR = 1.66, 95%CI: 1.22-2.26), rs3805486 (OR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.46-0.85), and rs10074991 (OR = 1.47, 95%CI: 1.15-1.88) were significant risk or protective factors for gastric cancer. In the codominant model, the ORs of each of the 5 SNPs were statistically significant. All SNPs in the model showed a dose-response relationship between the minor allele frequency and the risk of gastric cancer. Most notably, subjects with a homozygous minor allele in SNP rs10074991 showed 2.15 times the risk of gastric cancer as subjects without a minor allele. The PRKAA1 gene showed a significant gene-based association with gastric cancer in the VEGAS test.

Conclusion: All 5 tested tag SNPs of the PRKAA1 gene (rs13361707, rs154268, rs3805486, rs6882903, and rs10074991) were significantly associated with gastric cancer.