Serum protein and genetic tumor markers of gastric carcinoma

The high incidence of gastric cancer and consequent mortality pose severe threats to human health. Early screening, diagnosis and treatment are the key to improve the prognosis of the patients with gastric cancer. Gastroscopy with biopsy is an efficient method for the diagnosis of early gastric cancer, but the associated discomfort and high cost make it difficult to be a routine method for screening gastric cancer. Serum tumor marker assay is a simple and practical method for detection of gastric cancer, but it is limited by poor sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, people have been looking for novel serum markers of gastric cancer in recent years. Here we review the novel serum tumor markers of gastric cancer and their diagnostic significance, focusing on the discoveries from serum proteomics analyses and epigenetics researches.