Correlation between Serum Level of Hepatocyte Growth Factor and Progression of Gastric Cancer

Objective:We measured serum concentrations of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF)in 80 patients with gastric carcinoma and compared them with various clinicopathological characteristics,for evaluation of the significance of serum HGF levels.Methods:Preoperative serum HGF levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)system in 80 patients with gastric cancer.Results:The mean value of serum HGF in 80 patients was significantly higher than that in healthy control subjects(2.94±2.67 ng/ml vs.1.02±0.31 ng/ml,P=0.002).An increased serum HGF levels were associated with stage progression.Serum HGF levels in stage I patients were significantly lower than those in III stage and stage IV patients(2.19±2.12 ng/ml,3.92±3.45 ng/ml and 4.13±3.71 ng/ml,respectively),and statistically significant differences were found between the serum HGF levels of stage I and those of stage III(P0.05)and stage IV patients(P0.05).Pathological factor analyses demonstrated that the patients with lymph node metastases and liver metastases had significantly higher serum concentrations of HGF(P=0.016 and P=0.009,respectively).Conclusion:The mean serum level of HGF in gastric cancer patients is significantly higher than that in healthy control subjects.Over-expression of the serum HGF level has been correlated with higher tumor stages.These findings suggest that the measurement of serum HGF levels might be a useful indicator for monitoring tumor progression and prognosis in patients with gastric carcinoma.