Study on the diagnostic value of gastrin 17 and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 in gastric cancer
Authors: Wang Yanfang , Liu Hui , Li Xiang , Jin Juan , YAN Bo 
Published: October 2024

Objective
To investigate the diagnostic utility of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) and gastrin 17 (G-17) levels in the gastric juice of patients with gastric cancer and to track changes in the levels of these markers in the gastric juice of these patients.
Methods
Ninety-two individuals were diagnosed via gastric or gastroscopy. This trial includes stomach mucosal histology and gastroscopy performed at Hefei Second People's Hospital between March 2023 and March 2024. On the basis of the results of gastroscopy and gastric mucosal histology, all the participants were categorized into two groups: 30 patients with gastric cancer (GC) and 62 patients with gastritis. Thirty patients with chronic nonatrophic gastritis were chosen from the physical examination center, and thirty patients with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) composed the gastritis group. As the control group, they were chosen at the physical testing center. An enzyme-related immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to quantify the levels of G-17 and ALDH1 in each group. A correlation study was performed on the levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in the stomach juice of each group. By using binary logistic regression, the impact of G-17 and ALDH1 in gastric juice on the incidence of gastric cancer was examined. To illustrate the predictive usefulness of G-17 and ALDH1 in gastric juice for GC diagnosis, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated.
Results
The gastric juice of the gastric cancer group had higher levels of ALDH1 and G-17 than did the gastric juice of the atrophic gastritis group and the control group (both P < 0.05); additionally, the gastric juice of the atrophic gastritis group had higher levels than did the control group (both P < 0.05). The gastric juice levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in the groups with gastric cancer (r = 0.321, P < 0.05) and atrophic gastritis (r = 0.483, P < 0.05) were strongly correlated, whereas the control group showed no significant correlation (r = 0.088, P > 0.05) between ALDH1 and G-17 levels. The development of gastric cancer was significantly influenced by elevated levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in gastric juice (OR=1.153, 1.023; both P <0.05); the AUCs for the combined diagnosis of gastric cancer and elevated levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in gastric juice were 0.818, 0.745, and 0.855, respectively. In summary, patients with gastric cancer presented considerably increased levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in their stomach fluid, indicating a positive correlation. Additionally, the increase in ALDH1 and G-17 in gastric juice was more precise. Both ALDH1 and G-17 are strongly connected; their increased levels in gastric juice are important risk factors for the development of gastric cancer, and their combined detection in gastric juice is more accurate.
Conclusion
The development of gastric cancer is influenced by increased levels of ALDH1 and G-17 in gastric juice. The diagnosis of gastric cancer may be made more accurately by combining the two tests, which can be found in gastric juice.