genetic polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinases -1 and -7 and susceptibility to gastric cancer: an association study and meta-analysis.

matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) play an important role in gastric cancer (gc). accumulated evidence suggests that functional mmp-1 and mmp-7 gene polymorphisms are associated with several tumors. the aim of this study was to investigate two single nucleotide polymorphisms, mmp-1 -1607 1g/2g and mmp-7 -181 a/g, and their potential relationship with gc. we examined 246 gc  patients and 252 age-and sex-matched controls  from  sichuan province in china. genotypes were determined using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism strategy and dna sequencing. we also performed a meta- analysis of relevant studies, involving 1084 cases and 1721 controls, to place our findings in a broader context. no significant relationship was observed between the mmp-1 -1607 1g/2g alleles and genotypes and the risk of gc. there were significant differences in the genotypes and allele distributions  of  the  -181 a/g  polymorphism  of  the  mmp-7 gene between  cases and controls. the -181 a allele carriers had a significantly increased risk of gc compared with 181 g allele carriers (or=3.051, 95% ci, 1.475-6.310, p=0.002), and the aa genotype of 181 a/g  was associated with an increased risk of gc compared with the ag genotype (or=3.189, 95% ci, 1.523-6.676, p=0.001). a meta-analysis of six studies also showed a significant risk of gc associated with mmp-7 polymorphism.