Diagnostic value of serum pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II, and gastrin-17 levels for population-based screening for early-stage gastric cancer.

Objective: Diagnosing gastric cancer (GC) at early stages is important for reducing its mortality. This study evaluated the diagnostic value of serum pepsinogen (PG) I, PGII, and gastrin-17 (G17) levels in screening for early-stage GC.

Methods: Serum levels of PGI, PGII, and G17 were measured in patients with upper digestive tract symptoms or GC family histories, and the PGI to PGII ratio (PGR) was calculated. Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to determine the thresholds of PGI, PGR, and G17 for GC diagnosis.

Results: Among the 949 patients examined by gastroscopy, 13 (1.37%) had GC, including five cases of early-stage GC and eight cases of progressive GC. PGI, PGR, and G17 showed good specificity and sensitivity for early-stage and progressive GC. The optimal thresholds of PGI, G17, and PGR were 71.85 μg/L, 15.65 pmol/L and 5.04 for the diagnosis of early-stage GC, respectively, and were 42.55 μg/L, 20.55 pmol/L, and 2.79 for the diagnosis of progressive GC, respectively.

Conclusion: Combining PG and G17 serum levels with gastroscopy could be a promising approach to screen for early-stage GC.