Gene expression signature for detection of gastric cancer in peripheral blood

Gastric cancer (stomach cancer) is the fifth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Identifying gastric cancer patients at an early and curable stage of the disease is essential if mortality rates for this disease are to decrease. A non-invasive blood-based test that is an indicator of gastric cancer risk would likely be of benefit in identifying gastric cancer patients at an early stage, and such a test may enhance clinical decision making. This study identified a four-gene expression signature in peripheral blood samples associated with gastric cancer. A total of 216 blood samples were collected, including those from 36 gastric cancer patients, 55 healthy controls and 125 patients with other carcinomas, and gene expression profiles were examined using an Affymetrix Gene Profiling microarray. Blood gene expression profiles were compared between patients with stomach cancer, healthy controls and patients affected with other malignancies. A four-gene panel was identified comprising purine-rich element binding protein B, structural maintenance of chromosomes 1A, DENN/MADD domain containing 1B and programmed cell death 4. The four-gene panel discriminated gastric cancer with an area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.99, an accuracy of 95%, sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 96%. The non-invasive nature of the blood test, together with the relatively high accuracy of the four-gene panel may assist physicians in gastric cancer screening decision making.