The association of matrix metalloproteinase-9 promoter polymorphisms with gastric cancer risk: a meta-analysis.

Objective: A variety of studies have observed that the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) gene may be associated with the risk of gastric cancer(GC), and a cytosine (C) to thymine (T) mutation at the -1562 site of the MMP-9 gene promoter is reported to be closely related to the susceptibility. However, because of the conflicting results of these studies, we undertook a systematic meta-analysis to assess the association between the SNPs and the risk of gastric cancer.

Methods: A computerised literature search was conducted within the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Knowledge for studies on the genetic association of MMP-9-1562C/T and gastric cancer published from 2004 to 2015. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated for each genotype using the dominant, recessive, co-dominant, and allelic models of the matrix metalloproteinase 9.

Results: Our analysis indicated a significant association of MMP-9-1562C/T with gastric cancer (dominant model [CT+TT/CC]: OR = 1.121, 95% CI = 0.965-1.304; recessive model [CC+CT/TT]: OR = 1.663, 95% CI = 1.148-2.408; co-dominant model [TT/CC]: OR = 1.666, 95% CI = 1.127-2.461; [CT/CC]: OR = 1.078, 95% CI = 0.923-1.259; allelic model [T/C]: OR = 1.150, 95% CI =1.014-1.304).

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis results demonstrated that MMP-9-1562C/T promoter polymorphisms increase the risk of developing gastric cancer.