Tumour gastrin expression and serum gastrin concentrations in dogs with gastric carcinoma are poor diagnostic indicators

Hypergastrinaemia is observed commonly in human patients with gastric carcinoma and is associated with atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection, both of which predispose to development of gastric tumours. Increased expression of gastrin is also described as a prognostic indicator for gastric carcinoma in man. Gastric carcinoma is rare in dogs and generally carries a grave prognosis. In this study, the expression of gastrin was investigated immunohistochemically in gastric biopsy samples from 64 dogs with gastric carcinoma. Serum gastrin concentrations were measured in 15 of these dogs and compared with those of seven healthy control dogs. Tumour tissue expressed gastrin in 8% (5/64) of the dogs with gastric carcinoma. There was no significant difference in serum gastrin concentrations between dogs with gastric carcinoma and healthy controls (P = 0.08). Expression of gastrin in gastric carcinomas is less common in dogs than in man and may therefore not be relied on as a prognostic marker in this species. Serum gastrin concentration alone is also not a useful biomarker for gastric carcinoma in dogs.