STK15 is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates chromosomal segregation during mitosis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene, Phe31Ile (rs2273535) and Val57Ile (rs1047972), are inconsistently associated with gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) across different populations. However, this association is unclear in Malaysian population. Therefore, this study investigated the association of STK15 Phe31Ile and Val57Ile polymorphisms to GIC risk in Malaysia. Genomic DNA was extracted from 185 GIC patients and 1110 healthy controls and was subjected to polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. SNPs were further confirmed using sequencing. We found that the 31Phe allele and 31Phe/Phe genotype in the Phe31Ile SNP significantly increased GIC risk in Malaysian population, particularly in gastric cancer (p<0.017). The combined analysis for both SNPs also increased the risk of GIC in this study. Etiological factors such as age, gender and ethnicity were not associated with GIC in the population. This is the first study to report the association of STK15 Phe31Ile and Val57Ile SNPs with an increased risk of GIC in Malaysians; the 31Phe allele is exclusively associated with the risk of gastric cancer. In addition, GIC incidences among Malaysians have significantly shifted to a younger age (<50 years).
The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of helminth eggs excreted in the faeces of stray cats, dogs and in soil samples. A total of 505 fresh samples of faeces (from 227 dogs and 152 cats) and soil were collected. The egg stage was detected via microscopy after the application of formalin-ether concentration technique. Genomic DNA was extracted from the samples containing hookworm eggs and used for further identification to the species level using real-time polymerase chain reaction coupled with high resolution melting analysis. Microscopic observation showed that the overall prevalence of helminth eggs among stray cats and dogs was 75.7% (95% CI = 71.2%-79.9%), in which 87.7% of dogs and 57.9% of cats were infected with at least one parasite genus. Five genera of heliminth eggs were detected in the faecal samples, including hookworms (46.4%), Toxocara (11.1%), Trichuris (8.4%), Spirometra (7.4%) and Ascaris (2.4%). The prevalence of helminth infections among stray dogs was significantly higher than that among stray cats (p < 0.001). Only three genera of helminths were detected in soil samples with the prevalence of 23% (95% CI = 15.1%-31%), consisting of hookworms (16.6%), Ascaris (4%) and Toxocara (2.4%). The molecular identification of hookworm species revealed that Ancylostoma ceylanicum was dominant in both faecal and soil samples. The dog hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, was also detected among cats, which is the first such occurrence reported in Malaysia till date. This finding indicated that there was a cross-infection of A. caninum between stray cats and dogs because of their coexistent within human communities. Taken together, these data suggest the potential role of stray cats and dogs as being the main sources of environmental contamination as well as for human infections.