Prediction of Lymph Node Metastases in Gastric Cancer by Serum APE1 Expression

Aims: To investigate the functional role of serum Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) in prediction of lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer patients. Materials and methods: Serum samples were pre-operational collected from 86 patients with gastric cancer from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from March 2016 to August 2016. The serum of APE1 was measured by ELISA development kit and other CA242, CA724, CA199 and CEA levels by electrochemiluminescence assay. Results: The total of 86 patients with gastric cancer was classified into two groups (lymph node positive and negative groups). Using ELISA assay, we found out that the concentration of serum APE1 was higher in lymph node positive group than that of lymph node negative group. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to analyze, indicating that area under the ROC curve of serum APE1 were better than those of each regular markers (CEA+CA199+CA242+CA724) or combination of these markers. Additionally, the APE1 overexpression was uncovered in tissue of gastric cancer patients with lymph nodes metastases, which is correlation with results of serum APE1. Conclusion: Serum APE1 was identified as a valuable marker for prediction of lymph node metastases in patients with gastric cancer.