The role of pepsinogen and BTG۱ in the diagnosis of gastric cancer

Here Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common malignant tumor of the digestive system, and there are approximately one million GC patients worldwide. Although the incidence of GC has declined in the past few decades, the high mortality rate of GC remains a concern. While surgical resection and chemotherapy can safely and effectively prolong the survival of GC patients, ffective treatment of patients diagnosed with advanced or metastatic GC remains difficult. Therefore, to improve the survival rate of GC patients, an early and accurate diagnosis is important. Currently, clinical diagnosis of GC mainly involves gastroscopy, which is a costly procedure. Moreover, the examinee experiences considerable discomfort during gastroscopy, limiting its potential in large-scale screening. The ۱B cell transfer gene (BTG۱) is an anti-proliferative gene that regulates the occurrence and development of various tumors. There is no research on this gene in gastric cancer. On the other hand, serum pepsinogen levels reflect the morphologic and functional status of the stomach mucosa, so they serve as a marker of chronic atrophic gastritis. Although the association between BTG ۱ and pepsinogen I and the clinical features and prognostic factors of various cancers has already been investigated, this potential association for GC has not yet been established. Our aim was to estimate the risk of pepsinogen and BTG۱-associated gastric cancer by a case-control study. A total of ۶۰ patients with gastrointestinal diseases in our hospital were selected and based on the results of the study were divided into three groups: healthy (n = ۲۰), atrophic group (n = ۲۰), and gastric cancer group (n = ۲۰). The mean age of men and women was ۴۸ years. We collected biopsy specimens from patients with GC, atrophy, and healthy individuals using a gastroscope. The RNA samples were used to perform a qRT-PCR employing the designed specific primers against the BTG۱ and GAPDH genes. Fasting blood samples were collected and serum pepsinogen concentration was measured by immunoradiometry. Conscious consent was obtained individually. QRT-PCR results showed that the expression of BTG۱ and pepsinogen was significantly reduced in GC and atrophy samples. Finally, it can be concluded that decreased BTG۱ expression and decreased pepsinogen levels can act as an accurate biomarker for GC. It can also indicate the function of BTG۱ in the pathogenesis of GC. Atrophic gastritis was also associated with an elevated risk of gastric cancer and the risk increased further with pepsinogen levels. BTG۱ and pepsinogen tests can be valuable for screening populations in need of further diagnosis and can help prevent unnecessary invasive endoscopic procedures.

کلیدواژه ها:

BTG۱ ، Pepsinogen ، Atrophic gastritis ، Gastric cancer.