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Soluble c‐Met protein as a susceptible biomarker for gastric cancer risk: A nested case‐control study within the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort
Author(s) -
Yang Jae Jeong,
Yang Ji Hyun,
Kim Jungkon,
Ma Seung Hyun,
Cho Lisa Y.,
Ko KwangPil,
Shin Aesun,
Choi Bo Youl,
Kim Hyun Ja,
Han Dong Soo,
Eun Chang Soo,
Song Kyu Sang,
Kim Yong Sung,
Chang SoungHoon,
Shin HaiRim,
Kang Daehee,
Yoo KeunYoung,
Park Sue K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.27861
Subject(s) - caga , cancer , biomarker , medicine , odds ratio , helicobacter pylori , gastroenterology , nested case control study , cohort , case control study , cohort study , oncology , immunology , biology , gene , genetics , virulence
This study was conducted to evaluate the relevance of the soluble form of c‐Met protein, a truncated form of the c‐Met membrane receptor involved in the CagA pathway, as a potential biomarker for gastric cancer. Among 290 gastric cancer case‐control sets selected from the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort, the plasma concentrations of soluble c‐Met protein were measured with enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Using analysis of variance and covariance models with age, sex, smoking, Helicobacter pylori infection, and CagA seropositivity, the mean concentrations of soluble c‐Met protein between cases and controls were compared. To evaluate the association between gastric cancer and a c‐Met protein level, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using conditional logistic regression models. Interactions between CagA‐related genes and the soluble c‐Met protein concentration were also investigated. The overall median plasma concentration of soluble c‐Met among cases was significantly lower than those of controls (1.390 vs . 1.610 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). Closer to the onset of gastric cancer, the soluble c‐Met protein level decreased linearly in a time‐dependent manner ( p for trend = 0.0002). The combined effects between the CagA‐related genes and the soluble c‐Met protein concentration significantly intensified risks for gastric cancer. Restricted analyses including cases that had been diagnosed within 1 year after entering the cohort had a fair degree of ability (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73–0.77) to discriminate gastric cancer cases from normal controls. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the soluble form of c‐Met protein as a novel biomarker for gastric cancer. The beneficial effects of a high soluble c‐Met concentration in human plasma are strongly supported.