title: Serum galectin-3 as a potential marker for gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The identification of cancer biomarkers can advance the possibility for early detection and better monitoring of tumor progression. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum galectin-3(Gal-3) in patients with gastric cancer (GC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured serum Gal-3 levels using ELISA method in 87 patients with GC, 53 patients with benign gastric lesions, and 51 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum levels of Gal-3 in patients with GC were significantly higher than those in benign disease patients and healthy controls (P<0.001), but no difference was found between benign disease patients and healthy controls (P=0.635). Additionally, serum Gal-3 level was associated with lymph node metastasis (P=0.001) and distant metastasis (P<0.001), whereas it was not related to gender (P=0.204), age (P=0.269), tumor size (P=0.399), location (P=0.715), TNM stage (P=0.385), differentiation (P=0.135), or invasion depth (P=0.273). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that overall survival rates in patients with high Gal-3 levels were not significantly different that those with low Gal-3 levels (P=0.099).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of the current study suggests that serum Gal-3 represents a potential diagnostic marker for patients with GC, and may be an adjunct to determine the individual prognosis of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transfusion, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Daye
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Biochip Center, College of Basic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, No. 202 Hospital, Shenyang, Liaoning, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037502:Galectin 3