Abdominal Obesity Linked to Increased Risk of Gastric Cancer

Strategic Insights -

Researchers at Fudan University have conducted a study to explore the effects of genetic variation of obesity-related biological pathways and gene-obesity interactions on the incidence of gastric cancer. The study, published in Shanghai yufang yixue, found that obesity-related biological pathway SNP sites and their haplotypes are associated with the risk of gastric cancer. The researchers also identified specific genetic markers, including the HRAS/ rs12785860 variant, which is significantly associated with downregulation of HRAS gene expression and may serve as a potential genetic marker for gastric cancer.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 267 cases with gastric cancer and 267 healthy controls matched by age and gender using propensity score.
  • Genome-wide genotyping, quality control, and imputation extracted 19,250 SNP sites from 115 genes in 4 obesity-related biological pathways.
  • Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between these SNP sites and the risk of gastric cancer.
  • The study found 41 SNP sites significantly associated with the onset of gastric cancer.
  • The HRAS/ rs12785860 variant was identified as a significant genetic marker for gastric cancer.
  • JAK1/rs11208559 interacts with obesity additively on the risk of gastric cancer.
  • Individuals with GC+CC genotypes and pre-central or central obesity have an increased risk of gastric cancer.

Statistics:

  • 267 cases with gastric cancer and 267 healthy controls were included in the study.
  • 19,250 SNP sites were extracted from 115 genes in 4 obesity-related biological pathways.
  • 41 SNP sites were significantly associated with the onset of gastric cancer.
  • The HRAS/ rs12785860 variant was associated with a relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) of 1.5, attributable proportion due to interaction (AP) of 20%, and synergy index (SI) of 2.5.
  • The JAK1/rs11208559 variant had an odds ratio of 1.8 for gastric cancer.

Sources:

  • Shanghai yufang yixue (2025), 37(7):569-580.
  • NewsRx (2025, October 28). Fudan University Researchers Focus on Abdominal Obesity (Obesity-related genes and genetic susceptibility to gastric cancer). Cancer Weekly; p 778.