Rasoul Estakhri
1 , Kourosh Masnadi Shirazi
1, Morteza Ghojazadeh
2, Gilda Ghazisoltani
1* , Mahzad Azimpouran
3, Sepideh Fattahi
1, Jalal Farshbafi Nezhad Zoghi
4, Farid Karkon Shayan
5, Behnaz Ghamari
61 Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Centre, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
2 Research Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
3 Department of General Pathology, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
4 Department of Microbiology, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, Iran
5 Medical Philosophy and History Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
6 Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Gastric cancer is a rather common malignancy worldwide and a major healthcare system issue. Lately, the importance of biomarkers such as macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been demonstrated in the diagnosis of various gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. The present study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of MIF, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) in gastric cancer. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 84 patients with gastric cancer referred to the gastroenterology clinic of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and 80 healthy individuals were enrolled. Serum levels of MIF, CEA, and CA 19-9 were measured in both groups. Further, the grade and stage of the cancer were determined in in the patient group. Results: Serum levels of all three MIF, CEA, and CA 19-9 biomarkers in patients with gastric cancer were significantly higher than those of the control group (P = 0.001). However, no statistically significant correlations were found between the studied biomarkers with the tumor grade and stage. The MIF cut-off point for the diagnosis of gastric cancer was found to be 7.05 pg/ml and its sensitivity and specificity were 85.7% and 73.8%, respectively. Conclusion: MIF biomarker may involve in the pathogenesis and development of gastric cancer and it is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic marker in this malignancy.