Serum Biomarker Tests Accurately Assess Stomach Mucosa Condition

Serum biomarker tests were evaluated for their ability to differentiate between patients with healthy or diseased stomach mucosa: i.e., those with Helicobacter pylori gastritis or atrophic gastritis.

Risks for gastric cancer or peptic ulcer diseases are low in subjects with healthy stomach mucosa but are remarkably high in those with "diseased" stomach mucosa: i.e., in those with H. pylori gastritis or atrophic gastritis. Therefore, the differentiation between patients with healthy and diseased gastric mucosa is clinically important.

In a study performed by Dr. Iijima from the Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine (Sendai, Japan) and colleagues, the GastroPanel developed by Biohit Plc (Helsinki, Finland) was evaluated. In 162 outpatients the serum or plasma levels of gastrin-17 and H. pylori antibodies were measured from the same sample using an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) technique. Pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II were also measured from the same sample using a conventional Japanese technique, and by the GastroPanel examination. Gastroscopy with gastric biopsies was performed to classify the patients into those with healthy stomach mucosa, H. pylori nonatrophic gastritis, or atrophic gastritis.

Pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II assays using the GastroPanel and the Japanese methods showed a highly significant correlation. The biomarker assays revealed that 5% of subjects had advanced atrophic corpus gastritis, which was also verified by endoscopic biopsies. The GastroPanel examination revealed an additional 7 patients who had advanced atrophic gastritis limited to the antrum. When compared with the endoscopic biopsy findings, the GastroPanel examination classified patients into groups with "healthy" or "diseased" stomach mucosa with 94% accuracy, 95% sensitivity and 93% specificity.

The study was published in the February 21, 2009 World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Related Links:
Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Biohit Plc