Association between RUNX3 promoter methylation and gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) is a member of the runt-domain family of transcription factors and has been reported to be a candidate tumor suppressor in gastric cancer. However, the association between RUNX3 promoter methylation and gastric cancer remains unclear. METHODS: We systematically reviewed studies of RUNX3 promoter methylation and gastric cancer published in English or Chinese from January 2000 to January 2011, and quantified the association between RUNX3 promoter methylation and gastric cancer using meta-analysis methods. RESULTS: A total of 1740 samples in 974 participants from seventeen studies were included in the meta-analysis. A significant association was observed between RUNX3 promoter methylation and gastric cancer, with an aggregated odds ratio (OR) of 5.63 (95%CI 3.15, 10.07). There was obvious heterogeneity among studies. Subgroup analyses (including by tissue origin, country and age), meta-regression were performed to determine the source of the heterogeneity. Meta-regression showed that the trend in ORs was inversely correlated with age. No publication bias was detected. The ORs for RUNX3 methylation in well-differentiated vs undifferentiated gastric cancers, and in intestinal-type vs diffuse-type carcinomas were 0.59 (95%CI: 0.30, 1.16) and 2.62 (95%CI: 1.33, 5.14), respectively. There were no significant differences in RUNX3 methylation in cancer tissues in relation to age, gender, TNM stage, invasion of tumors into blood vessel or lymphatic ducts, or tumor stage. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis identified a strong association between methylation of the RUNX3 promoter and gastric cancer, confirming the role of RUNX3 as a tumor suppressor gene.

Rapid determination of phenolic compounds in water samples by alternating-current oscillopolarographic titration.

A rapid, simple and sensitive method was demonstrated for the determination of phenolic compounds in water samples by alternating-current oscillopolarographic titration. With the presence of sulfuric acid, phenol could be transferred into a nitroso-compound by reacting with NaNO2. The titration end-point was obtained by the formation of a sharp cut in the oscillopolarographic with infinitesimal NaNO2 on double platinum electrodes. The results showed that phenol concentration had an excellent linear relationship over the range of 4.82 x 10(-6)-9.65 x 10(-3) mol/L, the RSD of the proposed method was lower than 1.5%, and the spiked recoveries of three real water samples were in the range of 95.6%-106.9%.