Serum pepsinogen levels in gastric cancer patients and their relationship with Helicobacter pylori infection: a prospective study

Background: Our aim was to study the serum pepsinogen levels in gastric cancer patients in our population in relation to histology and the presence of Helicobacter pylori . Methods: Forty-six patients with gastric cancer and 70 controls were studied prospectively in a 1-year period. Serum levels of pepsinogen I (PG I), pepsinogen II (PG II), and gastrin were measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: The mean PG I levels for cancer patients and controls were 83.5 μg/l and 60.9 μg/l, respectively ( P = 0.03), the mean PG II levels were 27.2 μg/l and 12.1 μg/l respectively ( P < 0.0001). The PG I/II ratio was significantly lower in cancer patients ( P = 0.04) and in those with Helicobacter infection. Serum pepsinogen levels were not affected by any pathological characteristics. Histology showed that the prevalence of chronic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and gastric atrophy was 97%, 56%, and 15%, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of gastric atrophy is low in our population, and serum pepsinogen measurement is not useful as a screening tool for gastric cancer in this population. Received: July 8, 2002 / Accepted: September 2, 2002 Offprint requests to: J.B.-Y. So