Biomarkers for stomach cancer identified

STOMACH or gastric cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the world and the second leading cause of death due to cancer, yet it isn’t easily identified. Now, research at University of Adelaide in Australia has provided new hope for the early detection of stomach cancer with the identification of four new biomarkers in the blood of human cancer patients.

“A non-invasive, inexpensive screening technique through a simple blood test for the early detection of stomach cancer would make a huge difference in the survival outcomes for people with this disease,” said Associate Professor Peter Hoffmann, project leader and director of the University’s Adelaide Proteomics Centre.

Professor Hoffmann said current methods of detection are unreliable. “Stomach cancer is typically occurs without symptoms in the early stages so most cancers are not diagnosed until the later stages, and the survival rates are therefore low,” he said. “Endoscopic investigations are invasive and expensive and most are generally not conducted until the cancer is at an advanced stage.

As published in journal Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Dr Julia Humphries and Dr Megan Penno identified four new proteins that change in concentration in the blood of stomach cancer patients.

They showed differences in the four protein levels between serum samples from 37 gastric cancer patients, including 11 early stage cancer patients, and the controls which included healthy and non-cancerous patients with other gastric disease.

All four proteins – afamin, clusterin, haptoglobin and vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) – were individually superior to a current clinical marker CA72-4 in discriminating stomach cancer from healthy controls.

“Using the four markers together produces high levels of selectivity and sensitivity in detecting stomach cancer,” said Professor Hoffmann.

The biomarkers are subject to a PCT (Provisional Cooperation Treaty) patent and commercial partners are being sought.

The research has been funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and is in collaboration with Associate Professor Matthias Ernst of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.