Key clinical point: Baseline serum pepsinogen levels are associated with a significant risk for gastric cancer, particularly the noncardia type.
Major finding: A higher proportion of patients with gastric cancer vs matched controls had a positive baseline serum pepsinogen status (31.4% vs 5.5%; P < .001). A positive serum pepsinogen status was associated with an increased risk for gastric cancer (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 10.6; 95% CI 4.3-26.2). In subgroup analysis, a positive pepsinogen status was associated with a higher risk for noncardia gastric cancer (aOR 14.3; 95% CI 4.8-42.0).
Study details: This was a nested case-control study using the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening trial data of 105 participants who developed gastric cancer and 209 matched control individuals.
Disclosures: This study was sponsored by the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Health Care Disparities Research Award and National Institutes of Health-National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences grant. The authors declared no competing interests.
Source: In H et al. Serum pepsinogen as a biomarker for gastric cancer in the United States: A nested case-control study using the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial Data. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2022 (May 9). Doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-1328