Evaluation of the clinical significance of BTG1 gene expression and pepsinogen in serum and cancerous tissue and gastric atrophy

Abstract

Abstract Gastric cancer is highly prevalent in Iran (approximately 26.1 cases per 100,000). However, the worldwide incidence of this cancer is dramatically declining. Late diagnosis is one of the leading factors that contribute to the high mortality rate of gastric cancer in Iran. Therefore, discovering non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and treatment of gastric cancer is eminently required. Here we aimed to evaluate the changes of BTG1 and pepsinogen one (PG1) in the serum and tissues of patients with gastric atrophy and gastric cancer. Patients were referred to the special clinic of Dezful University of Medical Sciences, and healthy individuals participated from 2016-to 2020. BTG1 and PG1 gene expression was measured in 30 gastric cancer tissue samples, 30 atrophic gastritis samples, and 30 healthy tissue samples using qRT-PCR. ELISA was used to assess the serum levels of PG1 protein in serum. After performing the data distribution test, the Mann-Whitney U test and independent T-test were used to compare the groups. The qRT-CR results showed that the expression of BTG1 and PG1 genes in gastric cancer and atrophic gastritis tissue was significantly lower than in healthy tissue. Moreover, compared to cancer patients, serum PG1 levels of healthy individuals were considerably higher. There is also a significant difference in the expression of these genes in gastric and atrophic gastric cancer tissue and serum levels. In light of these observations, BTG1 and PG1 seem to be qualified as therapeutic and diagnostic targets for gastric cancer.