title: The value of serum pepsinogen levels for the diagnosis of gastric diseases in Chinese Han people in midsouth China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serum pepsinogen (PG) levels are valuable in the diagnosis of gastric diseases. However, PG levels are affected by many factors such as the area and race. This study aimed to investigate serum PG levels in patients with different gastric diseases who were Chinese Han people in Hunan Province, midsouth China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 248 gastric disease patients and 34 healthy controls were enrolled. The patients included those with non-atrophic and chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer, early and advanced gastric cancer. Serum PG I and II levels were detected by Biohit ELISA kit (Finland), and PG I/II ratio was calculated. Differences in patients with gastric disease and healthy controls were analyzed using paired t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with controls, patients with early and advanced gastric cancer had a significantly lower PG I level and PG I/II ratio (p <0.005). In contrast, patients with gastric and duodenal ulcer had a significantly higher PG I level (p <0.005). Compared with atrophic gastritis patients, patients with early and advanced carcinoma of the stomach had a significantly lower PG I/II ratio (p < 0.001). Combination of the cut-off levels of PG I (70 μg/L) and PG I/II ratio (6) provided 62.1% sensitivity of and 94.2% specificity for the diagnosis of gastric cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Decreased PG I level and PG I/II ratio are risk factors for gastric cancer. Combined use of serum PG I level and PG I/II ratio may help the early diagnosis of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan Province China. guiyingzhang1@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jia-xin
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Gui-ying
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xin-hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005757:Gastritis, Atrophic / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020116:Pepsinogen A / Q000097:blood*; D020115:Pepsinogen C / Q000097:blood*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D020115:Pepsinogen C; D020116:Pepsinogen A