Genetic variants of rs2274223 in PLCE1 at 10q23.33 (per G allele: odds ratio (OR) = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-1.38, P = 6.51 × 10<sup>-8</sup>), rs10052657 in PDE4D at 5q11.2 (per C allele: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.25, P = 3.28 × 10<sup>-2</sup>) and rs671 in ALDH2 at 12q24.12 (per A-allele: OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.75-0.91, P = 1.14 × 10<sup>-4</sup>) were significantly associated with GC risk.
A stratified analysis by country showed that the ALDH2 rs671G>A polymorphism might be a risk factor for GC in Japan (Allele model: <i>P</i><sub>unadjusted</sub> = 0.034; Dominant model: <i>P</i><sub>unadjusted</sub> = 0.040); however, the result was nonsignificant when the Bonferroni correction and false discovery rate (FDR) were applied.
In summary, the results of our study indicate that ALDH2 Glu487Lys and CYP4502E1 polymorphisms could be risk factors for the development of gastric cancer in the Chinese population.
The results of our meta-analysis suggested that ALDH2 genetic polymorphisms might be strongly correlated with an increased risk of gastric cancer (allele model: OR = 1.21, 95%CI: 1.11 ∼ 1.32, P<0.001; dominant model: OR = 1.23, 95%CI: 1.09 ∼ 1.39, P = 0.001; respectively), especially for rs671 polymorphism.