7%) 6 (60%)   7 (38.9%) 11 (50%)   1 (33.3%) 16 (50%)   >5 cm 4 (33.3%) 4 (40%)   8 (44.4%) 5 (22.7%)   2 (66.7%) 10 (31.3%)   TNM     .369 check details     .525     .208 T+N+M=<3 7 (58.3%) 3 (30%)   8 (44.4%) 12 (54.6%)   0 18 (56.3%)   T+N+M>=4 5 (41.7%) 7 (70%)   10 (55.6%) 10 (45.4%)   3 (100%) 14 (43.7%)   Stage     1.000     1.000

    1.000 early 1 (8.3%) 0   0 1 (4.6%)   0 1 (3.1%)   advanced 11 (91.7%) 10(100%)   18 (100%) 21 (95.4%)   3 (100%) 31 (96.9%)   Borrmann type     .620     .337     .753 I 1 (9.1%) 0   0 2 (9.5%)   0 2 (6.5%)   II 0 0   0 0   0 0   III 9 (81.8%) 9 (90%)   16 (88.9%) 18 (85.7%)   3 (100%) 26 (83.9%)   IV 1 (9.1%) 1(10%)   2 (11.1%) 1 (4.8%)   0 3 (9.7%)   Tumours with LOI of IGF2 are associated with increased risk (OR = 8, 95%CI = 1.425-44.920, p = 0.018)

of the gastric corpus cancer versus those without LOI and the increased risk of the lymph node metastasis (OR = 4.5, 95%CI = 1.084-18.689, p = 0.038) as shown in Table 4. Table 4 Odds ratio for gastric corpus cancer and lymph node metastasis of the LOI IGF-2 Variable Patients with gastric corpus cancer OR for gastric corpus cancer (95% CI) IGF2 LOI(+) 44.4% (8/18) 8 (1.425-44.920, p =.018) Normal imprinting 9.1% (2/22) 1   GDC-0941 mw Lymph node metastasis OR for lymph node metastasis (95% CI) IGF2 LOI(+) 50% (9/18) 4.5 (1.084-18.689, p =.038) Normal imprinting 18.2% (4/22) 1 OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; IGF-2: insulin growth factor 2; LOI: loss of imprinting Discussion The cluster of Selleckchem BIBW2992 imprinted genes on human chromosome 11p15.5 consists of two domains: IGF2-H19 domain and the KCNQ1 domain [4]. LOI of IGF2 has been observed in 10%

of the lymphocytes from normal individuals [30]. In normal human brain, biallelic Thymidylate synthase expression of IGF2 and/or H19 is found despite differential methylation and CTCF binding [31]. In this study, we have shown that LOI of the LIT1, IGF2 and H19 are present in 54.6%, 45% and 8.6% of gastric cancer tissues in Chinese patients respectively. This is the first study to detect on the LOI of LIT1, IGF2 and H19 in gastric cancer in China-Mainland patients and LOI of IGF2 positive correlation with gastric corpus tumour (OR = 8, 95%CI = 1.425-44.920, p = 0.018) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 4.5, 95%CI = 1.084-18.689, p = 0.038). The frequency of IGF2 LOI (+) gastric cancers (45%, 18/40) is slightly higher than that reported from Taiwan (34.5%, 10/29) [28]. High frequency of IGF2 LOI was observed in tumor and adjacent normal tissues and Igf2 LOI with Apc+/Min mice showed a shift toward less differentiation and an increase in tumor initiation indicating that IGF2 LOI occur at an early stage in cancer development [32]. Although the mechanisms underlying IGF2 LOI in human cancer remains unknown, it is likely to directly or indirectly involve the H19 ICR.