The Bone Morphogenesis Protein-2 (BMP-2) is associated with progression to metastatic disease in gastric cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGF-beta superfamily and it has been demonstrated that BMPs enhance migration, invasion and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to identify the association between the serum BMP-2 level and the progression status of gastric cancer.


METHODS
Fifty-five patients with metastatic gastric cancer (metastatic disease group), six patients with early gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis (the EGC group), and ten healthy control subjects were enrolled in this study. The serum BMP-2 level was quantified by use of a commercially available ELISA kit. In EGC group patients and patients with metastatic disease, whole blood was obtained before endoscopic mucosal resection and before the commencement of a scheduled cycle of systemic chemotherapy, respectively.


RESULTS
No significant difference in the mean serum BMP-2 levels was observed between the control subjects and the EGC group patients (87.95 pg/ml for the control subjects and 84.50 pg/ml for the EGC group, p=1.0). However, the metastatic disease group patients had a significantly higher level of serum BMP (179.61 pg/ml) than the control subjects and EGC group patients (87.95 pg/ml for the control subjects and 84.50 pg/ml for the EGC group, p<0.0001). Moreover, the mean serum BMP-2 level from patients with a bone metastasis was significantly higher than the mean serum BMP-2 level from patients without a bone metastasis (204.73 pg/ml versus 173.33 pg/ml, p=0.021).


CONCLUSIONS
BMP-2 seems to have a role in progression to metastatic disease in gastric cancer, especially in the late stage of tumorigenesis, including invasion and metastasis. BMP-2 may facilitate bone metastasis in gastric cancer. To confirm these findings, further studies are required with tissue specimens and the use of a cancer cell line.
Park
Yong
Y
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Jee Won
JW
Kim
Dae Sik
DS
Kim
Eui Bae
EB
Park
Se Jong
SJ
Park
Jin Yong
JY
Choi
Woo Suk
WS
Song
Jong Gyu
JG
Seo
Hee Yun
HY
Oh
Sang Cheul
SC
Kim
Byung Soo
BS
Park
Jong Jae
JJ
Kim
Yeul Hong
YH
Kim
Jun Suk
JS
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