Combined effect between WT1 methylation and Helicobacter pylori infection, smoking, and alcohol consumption on the risk of gastric cancer

Background Peripheral blood leukocyte DNA methylation status has been proposed to be a surrogate marker for evaluating susceptibility to gastric cancer (GC). Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection, smoking, and alcohol consumption are known to induce gene methylation. A case-control study was performed to investigate the interactions between the methylation of two candidate genes and H pylori infection, smoking, and alcohol consumption in the risk of GC. Methods A total of 400 GC cases and 402 controls were included in this study. The methylation status of WT1 and IGF2 was semiquantitatively determined by using methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting assays. H pylori IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA method. Results Based on the area under the curve (AUC), 0% methylated DNA and 0.5% methylated DNA were used as the cutoff values for WT1 and IGF2, respectively. WT1 methylation was significantly associated with increased GC risk (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.09-2.51, P = .019), especially in males (OR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.10-2.95, P = .019) and older individuals (>= 60 years) (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.15-3.57, P = .014). A significant combination was observed between WT1 methylation and H pylori infection, alcohol consumption, and smoking for the risk of GC (ORc = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.47-3.55, P = .003, ORc = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.37-3.51, P = .001, ORc = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.39-3.51, P = .001, respectively). However, no association between IGF2 methylation and the risk of GC was found in this study. Conclusions WT1 methylation may serve as a new potential biomarker for GC susceptibility and can combine with H pylori infection, smoking, and alcohol consumption to influence GC risk.