A single nucleotide polymorphism in the extracellular domain of TRAIL receptor DR4 at nucleotide 626 in gastric cancer patients in Japan

Death receptor 4 (DR4) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor genes. A single nucleotide polymorphism (Thr or Arg, C or G) in the extracellular domain was reported to be associated with a risk of lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and bladder cancer. In this study, we examined the association between the DR4 polymorphism and gastric cancer. The Thr/Thr, Thr/Arg and Arg/Arg genotypes were found in 250 (91.2%), 23 (8.4%) and 1 (0.4%) of 274 gastric cancer patients and in 317 (92.2%), 21 (6.1%) and 6 (1.7%) of 344 control subjects, respectively. The OR of Thr/Arg or Arg/Arg genotype did not reveal a significantly enhanced risk of 1.13 (95% CI, 0.63-2.00) compared to Thr/Thr genotype, suggesting that the DR4 polymorphism did not modify the risk of gastric cancer. In patients, no association between the genotype and clinicopathological characteristics (depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, stage and grade of differentiation) of gastric carcinoma was found. DR4 was constantly expressed in gastric carcinoma, but not in non-neoplastic gastric epithelium in immunohistochemistry. In conclusion, a Thr to Arg single nucleotide polymorphism in the extracellular domain of DR4 could not be associated with the development and progression of gastric cancer.