Reviewer's report
Title:The VEGF -634G>C promoter polymorphism is associated with risk of
gastric cancer
Version: 1Date:24 June 2009
Reviewer: Jing Shen
Reviewer's report:
A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to examine the association
between TGFB1 and VEGF genetic polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk.
Although the sample size is moderate (171 patients and 353 controls), one
positive result was observed that VEGF 634CG genotype and the combined
CG+CC genotype were associated with a significantly elevated risk of gastric
cancer. The study design is well, and the statistical methods are suitable. The
results were described correctly, and no over-interpretation. These results are
valuable for understanding the susceptibility of gastric cancer in Caucasian
although several studies have been done in Asian population.
Minor Essential Revisions
1) It is unclear how many gastric cancer cases are histological diagnosed
intestinal or diffuse types in the current study. It is important because different
subtypes may have different susceptibility.
2) Providing the information about the false-positive report probability (FPRP) for
the positive findings is necessary.
3) More discussions are also needed to evaluate the potential influence of the
SNP that is not in agreement with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Whether it
may bias the result?
4) What is the advantage of the current study or the feature that are different
from other previous studies in gastric cancer?
5) As mentioned by the authors that an obvious limitation of the current study
was the lack of information on the H. pylori infection status of the subjects, more
evidence that the observed positive results may be unlikely to be impacted by the
relatively lower H. pylori infectious rare in US population will strengthen the
discussion.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Reviewer's report
Title:The VEGF -634G>C promoter polymorphism is associated with risk of
gastric cancer
Version: 1Date:24 June 2009
Reviewer: Jing Shen
Reviewer's report:
A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to examine the association
between TGFB1 and VEGF genetic polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk.
Although the sample size is moderate (171 patients and 353 controls), one
positive result was observed that VEGF 634CG genotype and the combined
CG+CC genotype were associated with a significantly elevated risk of gastric
cancer. The study design is well, and the statistical methods are suitable. The
results were described correctly, and no over-interpretation. These results are
valuable for understanding the susceptibility of gastric cancer in Caucasian
although several studies have been done in Asian population.
Minor Essential Revisions
1) It is unclear how many gastric cancer cases are histological diagnosed
intestinal or diffuse types in the current study. It is important because different
subtypes may have different susceptibility.
2) Providing the information about the false-positive report probability (FPRP) for
the positive findings is necessary.
3) More discussions are also needed to evaluate the potential influence of the
SNP that is not in agreement with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Whether it
may bias the result?
4) What is the advantage of the current study or the feature that are different
from other previous studies in gastric cancer?
5) As mentioned by the authors that an obvious limitation of the current study
was the lack of information on the H. pylori infection status of the subjects, more
evidence that the observed positive results may be unlikely to be impacted by the
relatively lower H. pylori infectious rare in US population will strengthen the
discussion.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:The VEGF -634G>C promoter polymorphism is associated with risk of
gastric cancer
Version: 1Date:24 June 2009
Reviewer: Jing Shen
Reviewer's report:
A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to examine the association
between TGFB1 and VEGF genetic polymorphisms and gastric cancer risk.
Although the sample size is moderate (171 patients and 353 controls), one
positive result was observed that VEGF 634CG genotype and the combined
CG+CC genotype were associated with a significantly elevated risk of gastric
cancer. The study design is well, and the statistical methods are suitable. The
results were described correctly, and no over-interpretation. These results are
valuable for understanding the susceptibility of gastric cancer in Caucasian
although several studies have been done in Asian population.
Minor Essential Revisions
1) It is unclear how many gastric cancer cases are histological diagnosed
intestinal or diffuse types in the current study. It is important because different
subtypes may have different susceptibility.
2) Providing the information about the false-positive report probability (FPRP) for
the positive findings is necessary.
3) More discussions are also needed to evaluate the potential influence of the
SNP that is not in agreement with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Whether it
may bias the result?
4) What is the advantage of the current study or the feature that are different
from other previous studies in gastric cancer?
5) As mentioned by the authors that an obvious limitation of the current study
was the lack of information on the H. pylori infection status of the subjects, more
evidence that the observed positive results may be unlikely to be impacted by the
relatively lower H. pylori infectious rare in US population will strengthen the
discussion.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Acceptable
Statistical review: No, the manuscript does not need to be seen by a
statistician.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests.
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