Gastric cancer—a convergence of genomic heterogeneity

Gastric cancer (GC) is the 5^th most common cancer worldwide and the 3^rd leading cause of global cancer mortality (1). In 2012, an estimated 723,000 deaths were ascribed to this disease. The incidence of GC is known to vary widely across geographical regions, being particularly common in East Asian countries (e.g., South Korea, Japan and China) and parts of Latin America, while remaining relatively infrequent in Western countries (1). The underlying reasons for these geographical differences are likely multi-factorial, and may involve differences in infectious etiology (e.g., Heliobacter pylori, Epstein Barr Virus), environmental risk factors (diet, obesity), and population-specific differences in host genetic polymorphisms in genes such as IL1β and TLR4 that can contribute to GC risk.