title: [Correlation of preoperative plasma levels of big endothelin-1 to prognosis of gastric carcinoma].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Endothelin, a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, is involved in mitogenesis modulation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, tumor invasion and metastases. Big endothelin-1 (Big ET-1), the stable precursor of endothelin-1, is regarded as a marker of tumor progression and prognosis. This study was to detect the expression of Big ET-1 in gastric cancer patients, and explore its correlations to progression and prognosis of gastric cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The plasma levels of Big ET-1 in 118 gastric cancer patients and 20 healthy subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of Big ET-1 in primary tumor and para-cancerous gastric tissues of the 118 patients was detected by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The plasma level of Big ET-1 was significantly higher in patients with advanced gastric cancer than in patients with early stage gastric cancer and healthy subjects [(5.78+/-1.85) ng/L vs. (3.13+/-1.72) ng/L and (2.46+/-0.59) ng/L, P=0.026, P=0.008]. The plasma level of Big ET-1 was significantly higher in patients with lymph node metastases than in those without [(6.13+/-2.34) ng/L vs. (4.25+/-1.65) ng/L, P=0.006], and significantly higher in stage II, III, IV patients than in stage I patients. During follow-up, patients with high plasma levels of Big ET-1 had higher recurrence rate and lower 2-year survival rate as compared with those with low plasma levels of Big ET-1 (84.6% vs. 60.9%, P=0.034; 38.5% vs. 56.5%,P=0.017). The positive rate of Big ET-1 was significantly higher in stage II,III and IV patients than in stage I patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The plasma level of Big ET-1 may play a vital role in the development, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer, and may be a predictor of tumor disease severity and prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The Fifth Hospital of Huangshi City, Huangshi, Hubei, PR China. tfhoo2006@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhi-Xiang
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jiang-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Zhi-Xiang
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019332:Endothelin-1