Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and progranulin in patients with gastric cancer (GC) and precancerous lesions (PCL) and to determine the usefulness of these markers as diagnostic biomarkers in these diseases.
Method: A total of 32 GC patients, 35 PCL patients, and 23 healthy controls participated in the study. The serum levels of VEGF, PEDF, TNF-α, and progranulin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
Results: The mean serum VEGF levels were 30.6 ± 12.98 pg/mL in GC, 18.2 ± 5.72 pg/mL in PCL, and 17.5 ± 5.59 pg/mL in controls. GC VEGF levels were significantly higher than both PCL and control groups (p < 0.001). The mean serum PEDF levels were 1516.1 ± 993.8 pg/mL in GC, 1039.1 ± 1002.3 pg/mL in PCL, and 767.5 ± 661.5 pg/mL in controls. The serum PEDF level in the GC group was significantly higher than that in both PCL and control groups (p = 0.004 and p = 0.038, respectively). The mean serum TNF-α levels were 46.7 ± 14.82 pg/mL in GC, 38.4 ± 11.89 pg/mL in PCL, and 33.8 ± 12.77 pg/mL in controls. There was a significant difference between GC and controls (p = 0.022) in TNF-α levels. The mean serum progranulin levels in GC were 2496.6 ± 737.8 pg/mL, 2332.0 ± 482.1 pg/mL in PCL, and 1288.7 ± 830.9 pg/mL in controls. Progranulin levels in both GC and PCL groups were significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.001 for both).
Conclusion: There were significant differences among patients with GC and PCL and healthy controls in terms of serum VEGF, PEDF, TNF-α, and progranulin levels.
Keywords: Gastric atrophy; Gastric cancer; Intestinal metaplasia; PEDF; Progranulin; TNF-α; VEGF.