Detection of CEA mRNA perioperatively in the peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the expression of CEA mRNA perioperatively in the peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer and its clinical significance.Methods The expression of CEA mRNA was detected in 10 fresh gastric cancer tissue specimens,in the peripheral blood of fifty patients with gastric cancer both pre-and post-operatively,and also in the peripheral blood of 20 healthy persons by nested-reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results The positive rate for CEA mRNA in the peripheral blood of preoperative patients with gastric cancer was 48.0%,The positive rate for CEA mRNA in the peripheral blood of postoperative patients with gastric cancer was 60.0%,there was no significant statistical correlation(P0.05).The positive rate for CEA mRNA was correlated with the pathologic differentiation and clinical states(P0.05).But it had no significant correlation with the gender,age or the status of lymph node metastasis(P0.05).The expression of CEA mRNA was positive in all gastric cancer tissue specimens,but negative in the peripheral blood of healthy people.Conclusions It is perhaps an ideal method to detect the micrometastasis of gastric cancer through the evaluation of expression of CEA mRNA in the peripheral blood by nested reverse transcription PCR(RT-PCR).It may play an important role in the evaluation of the prognosis and the necessity of adopting advanced therapy among the gastric cancer patients.Surgery operation does influence the status of micrometastasis of gastric cancer patients,but no significant correlation has been found clinically.