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Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &... Jul 2022Gastric cancer remains a deadly cancer with poor outcomes in the United States. There is a need for screening strategies for gastric cancer in the U.S. population. With...
Gastric cancer remains a deadly cancer with poor outcomes in the United States. There is a need for screening strategies for gastric cancer in the U.S. population. With progressive Helicobacter pylori-mediated inflammation of the gastric mucosa, pepsinogen I levels decrease and the pepsinogen I/II ratio decreases. Pepsinogen test positivity (PG+) has been evaluated as a promising screening test among Asian and European populations; however, its utility in multiethnic U.S. populations is poorly described. In this case-control study nested within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, In and colleagues evaluate the discrimination of PG+ in serum collected from individuals prior to the development of gastric cancer. The authors find that PG+ individuals were at nearly 10-fold increased risk for developing gastric cancer, and this effect remained robust after adjusting for Helicobacter pylori status, family history, education, smoking, and obesity. In subgroup analysis, the predictive ability of the test was particularly robust for noncardia gastric cancers, and nonpredictive of cardia gastric cancers. Serum pepsinogen testing holds promise as a noninvasive screening strategy to triage individuals at heightened risk for gastric cancer, and may help to improve early diagnosis in the United States. See related article by In et al., p. 1426.
Topics: Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; Early Detection of Cancer; Helicobacter Infections; Helicobacter pylori; Humans; Male; Pepsinogen A; Stomach Neoplasms; United States
PubMed: 35775231
DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0372 -
Helicobacter Sep 2019Endoscopic imaging of the stomach is improving. In addition to narrow band imaging, other methods, for example, blue light imaging and linked color imaging, are now... (Review)
Review
Endoscopic imaging of the stomach is improving. In addition to narrow band imaging, other methods, for example, blue light imaging and linked color imaging, are now available and can be combined with artificial intelligence systems to obtain information on the gastric mucosa and detect early gastric cancer. Immunohistochemistry is only recommended as an ancillary stain in case of chronic active gastritis without Helicobacter pylori detection by standard staining, and recommendations to exclude false negative H. pylori results have been made. Molecular methods using real-time PCR, droplet digital PCR, or amplification refractory mutation system PCR have shown a high accuracy, both for detecting H. pylori and for clarithromycin susceptibility testing, and can now be used in clinical practice for targeted therapy. The most reliable non-invasive test remains the C-urea breath test. Large data sets show that DOB values are higher in women and that the cut-off for positivity could be decreased to 2.74 DOB. Stool antigen tests using monoclonal antibodies are widely used and may be a good alternative to UBT, particularly in countries with a high prevalence of H. pylori infection. Attempts to improve serology by looking at specific immunodominant antigens to distinguish current and past infection have been made. The interest of Gastropanel which also tests pepsinogen levels was confirmed.
Topics: Breath Tests; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; Helicobacter Infections; Humans; Immunoassay; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
PubMed: 31486244
DOI: 10.1111/hel.12641 -
Helicobacter Apr 2022In the gastric mucosa, pepsinogen II (PgII) is produced/secreted by glands in the mucus-secreting antral and cardia compartments, but also by the chief cells and the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND AND AIM
In the gastric mucosa, pepsinogen II (PgII) is produced/secreted by glands in the mucus-secreting antral and cardia compartments, but also by the chief cells and the oxyntic glands. Increasing PgII serum levels are associated with the whole spectrum of gastric inflammatory diseases, including gastritis induced by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). This review critically addresses the clinical value of PgII serology for assessing gastric mucosal inflammation, and as a marker of H. pylori status, in both H. pylori-positive patients and after eradication therapy.
RESULTS
A search in PubMed/Scopus records yielded 39 out of 1190 published scientific studies meeting the selection criteria for this study. In the studies considered, PgII levels were significantly associated with non-atrophic gastric inflammatory lesions (p-values: 0.025-0.0001). H. pylori-positive patients had significantly higher PgII levels than H. pylori-negative individuals (p-values: 0.o5-0.0001). While a significant drop in serum PgII levels is consistently reported in H. pylori-eradicated patients (p-values: from 0.05 to 0.0001), inconsistencies in the related negative and positive predictive values significantly lower the clinical reliability of PgII testing by comparison with other available non-invasive tests.
CONCLUSIONS
PgII serology may provide clinically useful information on gastric inflammatory diseases, particularly if they are non-atrophic. PgII serology is inconsistent, however, for the purposes of distinguishing patients whose H. pylori eradication therapy is successful from those who remain infected.
Topics: Gastric Mucosa; Gastritis; Gastritis, Atrophic; Helicobacter Infections; Helicobacter pylori; Humans; Pepsinogen A; Pepsinogen C; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 34997989
DOI: 10.1111/hel.12872 -
The American Journal of Surgical... Apr 2022Gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland type (GAFG) has been recently classified by the World Health Organization (WHO), however, clinicopathologic features of...
Gastric adenocarcinoma of the fundic gland type (GAFG) has been recently classified by the World Health Organization (WHO), however, clinicopathologic features of pepsinogen I- or H+/K+-ATPase-positive gastric tumors remain unclear. Therefore, this study evaluates the frequency and clinicopathologic features of those tumors, using a tissue microarray block to identify pepsinogen I- or H+/K+-ATPase-positive tumors from 810 endoscopically resected, early gastric epithelial tumors. The frequency of pepsinogen I-positive lesions was 2.1%, and that of H+/K+-ATPase-positive lesions was 2.0%. Pepsinogen I- or H+/K+-ATPase positivity was not observed in undifferentiated-type tumors, while gastric tumors with morphologic similarity to fundic glands were positive for pepsinogen I- or H+/K+-ATPase. We divided pepsinogen I- or H+/K+-ATPase-positive gastric tumors into group A, with fundic gland-like structure, or group B, without fundic gland-like structure. The frequency of group A was 1.6%: 46.2% were positive only for pepsinogen I and 53.8% for H+/K+-ATPase and pepsinogen I. The frequency of group B was 1.5%: 25% were positive only for pepsinogen I, 8.3% for H+/K+-ATPase and pepsinogen I, and 66.7% only for H+/K+-ATPase. The 2 tumor groups differed in location and endoscopic features. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed that group B had more exposed tumors to the surface, larger nuclei, and more background atrophy than group A. Immunostaining showed significantly higher positivity rates for MUC5AC, CD10, CDX2, and p53 expression, and a higher Ki-67 labeling score. Our results provide novel insights into the pathology of early gastric tumors with histologic or immunohistochemical evidence of fundic gland differentiation.
Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Gastric Mucosa; H(+)-K(+)-Exchanging ATPase; Humans; Pepsinogen A; Stomach Neoplasms
PubMed: 34999591
DOI: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000001861 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Sep 2023: Autoimmune gastritis (AIG), characterized with the presence of anti-parietal-cell antibodies (APCA), is a risk factor for gastric cancer. However, AIG may go...
: Autoimmune gastritis (AIG), characterized with the presence of anti-parietal-cell antibodies (APCA), is a risk factor for gastric cancer. However, AIG may go underdiagnosed, especially in the case of infection and the presence of gastric precancerous lesions (GPL), due to the ambiguous pathology and delayed symptom onset. : Investigate the prevalence and characteristics of AIG in GPL patients. Prevalence of AIG was determined with the presence of APCA in patients with GPL (n = 256) and the control group (n = 70). Pathological characteristics and levels of gastrin 17 (G17), pepsinogen (PG) I and II and anti- IgG were assessed in GPL cases, and the severity of intestinal metaplasia and gastric atrophy was scored by expert pathologists. : APCA positivity was observed in 18% of cases vs. 7% of controls ( = 0.033). Only 3/256 patients were previously diagnosed with AIG. The presence of APCA was associated with corpus-limited and extended GPL. A receiver operating curve analysis demonstrated that the G17 and PGI/II ratio could identify APCA-positive patients within GPL cases (AUC: 0.884). : The prevalence of AIG is higher in patients with GPL but goes undiagnosed. Using G17 and PG I/II as diagnostic markers can help to identify patients with AIG and improve surveillance programs for patients with GPL.
PubMed: 37834796
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12196152 -
Archives of Medical Research Feb 2023Gastric cancer (GC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus patients have a poor prognosis. This implies that early detection of this cancer will improve... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Gastric cancer (GC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage and thus patients have a poor prognosis. This implies that early detection of this cancer will improve patient prognosis and survival. This systematic review explored the association of circulating protein and metabolite biomarkers with GC development.
METHODS
A literature search was conducted until November 2021 on Medline, Embase, Cochrane library, and Web of Science databases. Studies were included if they assessed circulating proteins and metabolites in blood, urine, or saliva and determined their association with GC risk. Quality of identified studies was determined using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cohort studies. Random and fixed effects meta-analyses were performed to calculate pooled odds ratio.
RESULTS
A total of 53 studies were included. High levels of anti-Helicobacter pylORi IgG levels, pepsinogen I (PGI) <30 µg/L and serum pepsinogen I/ pepsinogen II (PGI/II) ratio<3 were positively associated with risk of developing GC (pooled odds ratio (OR): 2.70; 95% CI: 1.44-5.04, 5.96, 95% CI: 2.65-13.42 and 4.43; 95% CI: 3.04-6.47). In addition, an inverse relationship was found between ferritin, iron and transferrin levels and risk of developing GC (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.38-1,0.97; 95% CI: 0.94-1 and 0.85; 95% CI: 0.76-0.94). However, there was no association between levels of glucose, cholesterol, vitamin C, vitamin B12, vitamin A, α-Carotene, β-Carotene, α-Tocopherol, γ-Tocopherol, and GC risk.
CONCLUSION
The pooled analysis demonstrated that high levels of anti-Helicobacter pylORi IgG, PGI<30µg/L and serum PGI/II ratio <3 and low levels of ferritin, iron and transferrin were associated with risk of GC.
Topics: Humans; Stomach Neoplasms; Pepsinogen A; Biomarkers; Pepsinogen C; Immunoglobulin G; Ferritins; Iron; Transferrins; Helicobacter Infections
PubMed: 36759293
DOI: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2022.12.012 -
Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology :... 2023Screening for chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is crucial for the prevention and early detection of gastric cancer. Endoscopy is the main method of CAG diagnosis, with...
BACKGROUND
Screening for chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) is crucial for the prevention and early detection of gastric cancer. Endoscopy is the main method of CAG diagnosis, with high training requirements and limited accuracy, making it difficult to popularize. The study attempts to improve the positive rate and accuracy of CAG screening through non-invasive testing.
METHODS
A total of 2564 patients who underwent gastroscopy were included in this study. The results of gastroscopic evaluation, histological biopsy results (including H. pylori biopsy), urea breath test (UBT) results, serum pepsinogen, and testosterone were statistically analyzed.
RESULTS
We found significant differences in the diagnosis of CAG between endoscopy and histological biopsy. Pepsinogen II and pepsinogen I/II ratio were more useful for the diagnosis of CAG compared with pepsinogen I. The risk of CAG was increased when pepsinogen II exceeded 11.05 μg/L, and the pepsinogen I/II ratio was less than 3.75. CAG positivity was higher in patients with positive H. pylori infection on UBT screening. In addition, higher levels of testosterone, SHBG and HSD17B2, and lower level of GNRH1 were found in CAG mucosa. Patients with high serum testosterone had a higher risk of CAG.
CONCLUSION
CAG screening should be combined with endoscopic evaluation, biopsy, and other non-invasive tests. Non-invasive tests include the combination of serum pepsinogen II protein and pepsinogen I/II ratio and high level of serum testosterone. UBT combined with serum pepsinogen testing may improve the positive rate of CAG and reduce gastric mucosal damage from multiple biopsies.
Topics: Humans; Gastritis, Atrophic; Pepsinogen A; Pepsinogen C; Risk Factors; Testosterone; Helicobacter pylori; Helicobacter Infections
PubMed: 36588366
DOI: 10.4103/sjg.sjg_383_22 -
The Laryngoscope Jan 2023At the conclusion of this presentation, participants should better understand the carcinogenic potential of pepsin and proton pump expression in Barrett's esophagus.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE
At the conclusion of this presentation, participants should better understand the carcinogenic potential of pepsin and proton pump expression in Barrett's esophagus.
OBJECTIVE
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a well-known risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Gastric H /K ATPase proton pump and pepsin expression has been demonstrated in some cases of BE; however, the contribution of local pepsin and proton pump expression to carcinogenesis is unknown. In this study, RNA sequencing was used to examine global transcriptomic changes in a BE cell line ectopically expressing pepsinogen and/or gastric H /K ATPase proton pumps.
STUDY DESIGN
In vitro translational.
METHODS
BAR-T, a human BE cell line devoid of expression of pepsinogen or proton pumps, was transduced by lentivirus-encoding pepsinogen (PGA5) and/or gastric proton pump subunits (ATP4A, ATP4B). Changes relative to the parental line were assessed by RNA sequencing.
RESULTS
Top canonical pathways associated with protein-coding genes differentially expressed in pepsinogen and/or proton pump expressing BAR-T cells included those involved in the tumor microenvironment and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Top upstream regulators of coding transcripts included TGFB1 and ERBB2, which are associated with the pathogenesis and prognosis of BE and EAC. Top upstream regulators of noncoding transcripts included p300-CBP, I-BET-151, and CD93, which have previously described associations with EAC or carcinogenesis. The top associated disease of both coding and noncoding transcripts was cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
These data support the carcinogenic potential of pepsin and proton pump expression in BE and reveal molecular pathways affected by their expression. Further study is warranted to investigate the role of these pathways in carcinogenesis associated with BE.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
NA Laryngoscope, 133:59-69, 2023.
Topics: Humans; Proton Pumps; Pepsinogen A; Proton Pump Inhibitors; Barrett Esophagus; Esophageal Neoplasms; Pepsin A; Carcinogenesis; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Tumor Microenvironment
PubMed: 35315085
DOI: 10.1002/lary.30109 -
Clinics and Research in Hepatology and... Aug 2023Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) is a prominent risk factor for pernicious anemia (PA) and gastric neoplasia. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological...
BACKGROUND AND AIM
Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) is a prominent risk factor for pernicious anemia (PA) and gastric neoplasia. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of AIG patients in China, with a focus on those who had positive anti-intrinsic factor antibodies (AIFA).
METHODS
A total of 103 AIG patients who were diagnosed between January 2018 and August 2022 were reviewed in a large academic tertiary teaching hospital. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of AIFA, and their serologic and histopathological characteristics were analyzed.
RESULTS
The mean age of the 103 AIG patients was 54.16±11.92 years (range 23-79), with 69 (66.99%) being women. AIFA were present in 28.16% of patients. Patients with AIFA-positive had a higher risk of PA than those with AIFA-negative, as demonstrated by a larger mean corpuscular volume (MCV), lower hemoglobin level, and lower vitamin B-12 level (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in gastric histopathology, gastrin level, and pepsinogen level when patients were divided into AIFA-positive and AIFA-negative group. Of the 103 cases, 34 (33.01%) were concomitant with other autoimmune diseases, with autoimmune thyroid diseases being the most common (25.24%, 26/103). Thyroid peroxidase antibody, which accounted for 45.45% (25/55), was the most prevalent thyroid antibody, followed by anti-thyroglobulin antibody (34.55%, 19/55), thyroid stimulating antibody (12.73%, 7/55), and thyrotropin receptor antibody (3.64%, 2/55).
CONCLUSION
This study highlights the increased risk of severe anemia in AIFA-positive AIG patients, particularly for PA. Clinicians should consider the presence of AIFA as a warning sign for PA and prioritize early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to prevent serious complications.
Topics: Humans; Female; Young Adult; Adult; Middle Aged; Aged; Male; Retrospective Studies; Gastritis; Autoantibodies; Autoimmune Diseases; Anemia, Pernicious
PubMed: 37311519
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinre.2023.102154 -
Nutrition, Metabolism, and... Jan 2021Serum pepsinogens (PGs) are biomarkers for gastric mucosal damage and have been reported to be associated with atherosclerosis. Its correlation with atherosclerotic... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND AND AIM
Serum pepsinogens (PGs) are biomarkers for gastric mucosal damage and have been reported to be associated with atherosclerosis. Its correlation with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is still unknown. This study aimed to explore the association between serum PGs and ASCVD for providing physicians with an integrative picture to make rational plans in the diagnosis and treatment of ASCVD.
METHODS AND RESULTS
The concentrations of serum PGs and their distributions between ASCVD and non-ASCVD were compared by non-parametric test, Chi-squared test and Fisher exact test. The correlation between variables was analyzed by Spearman's correlation test. The association of serum PGs with ASCVD was analyzed by the binary logistic regression and two-piecewise linear regression. A total of 8355 recruited cases were eligible for the study. The concentrations of serum PGs were significantly different between the ASCVD and non-ASCVD groups (P = 0.025, P < 0.001). The lower PGI and PGR levels were significantly correlated with a high risk of ASCVD presence after adjustment for 26 potential covariates. Moreover, there was a linear relationship between the high level of PGII and the high risk of ASCVD [adjusted OR = 1.16 (1.00, 1.37), P = 0.07]. A nonlinear relationship of PGI/PGR and ASCVD (P = 0.08/<0.001) was also revealed. The risk of ASCVD increased with a range of log PGI ≥2.13 (PGI≥131 ng/mL) [adjusted OR = 4.67 (1.00, 23.17)], and decreased with a range of log PGR ≥0.22 (1.65) [adjusted OR = 0.59 (0.48, 0.74), P < 0.001].
CONCLUSIONS
Serum PGI and PGR are nonlinearly correlated with ASCVD, while PGII is linearly correlated with ASCVD. Among all PGs, PGR may serve as a reliable biomarker for ASCVD.
Topics: Aged; Atherosclerosis; Biomarkers; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pepsinogen A; Pepsinogen C; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 33127250
DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2020.07.045