<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The importance of polymorphisms in the
methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)
gene for the prediction of the response to
fluorouracil -based
adjuvant chemotherapy in
gastric cancer patients remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the predictive value of several polymorphisms of the MTHFR
gene for clinical outcomes of
gastric cancer patients treated with
fluorouracil -based
adjuvant chemotherapy in
Chinese population .</p><p><b>
METHODS </b>Three hundred and sixty-two
Chinese patients with
gastric cancer were treated with
fluorouracil -based
adjuvant chemotherapy .
DNA samples were isolated from peripheral
blood collected before
treatment . The three
single nucleotide polymorphisms (
SNPs ) (rs1801131, rs1801133, rs2274976)
genotypes of the MTHFR
gene were determined by matrixassisted
laser desorption/ionization
time -of-flight
mass spectrometry (
MALDI -TOF MS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The average response rate for
chemotherapy was 46.7%. Homozygous
genotypes rs2274976G/G (χ(2) = 22.7, P < 0.01) and rs1801131A/A (χ(2) = 14.3, P = 0.008) were over-represented in responsive
patients . Carriers of the rs2274976A
allele genotypes (G/A and A/A) and of the rs1801131C
allele genotypes (A/C and C/C) were prevalent in nonresponsive
patients . In the
haplotype association analysis , there was a significant difference in global
haplotype distribution between the groups (χ(2) = 20.69, P = 0.000 124).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results suggest that polymorphisms of the MTHFR
gene may be used as predictors of the response to
fluorouracil -based
chemotherapy for
gastric cancer patients in
Chinese population . Well-designed, comprehensive, and
prospective studies on determining these polymorphisms of MTHFR
gene as
clinical markers for predicting the response to
fluorouracil -based
therapy in
gastric cancer patients is warranted.</p>