[Comparison of two serological methods in screening gastric cancer and its precancerous condition]

Objective: To compare the diagnostic value of the old "ABC" method [serum pepsinogen(PG) combined with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) IgG antibody] and the new "ABC" method [serum pepsinogen plus gastrin-17(G-17)] in screening gastric cancer and its precancerous condition. Methods: Serum PG, G-17 and Hp-IgG were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 278 subjects. Subjects were grouped according to the criteria of two methods. The gastroscopy and pathological biopsy were gold standard. Results: The positive rate of old "ABC" method was 74.46% (207/278), which was 54.68% of new "ABC" method (151/278). For the diagnosis of gastric cancer, the sensitivity and specificity of the old "ABC" method were 90.74% and 29.46% respectively, with diagnostic coincidence rate 41.37%. The sensitivity and specificity of the new "ABC" method were 92.59% and 54.46% respectively, with diagnostic coincidence rate 61.87%. As to the diagnosis of pre-cancerous state, the sensitivity and specificity of the old "ABC" method were 75.81% and 36.00%, with diagnostic coincidence rate 58.03%. The sensitivity and specificity of the new "ABC" method were 62.10% and 75.00%, with diagnostic coincidence rate 67.86%. Conclusions: Compared with the old "ABC" method, the new "ABC" method has higher sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic coincidence rate for the diagnosis of gastric cancer, yet higher specificity and lower sensitivity for the diagnosis of precancerous conditions.