Differential expression of and in gastric cancer and comparison with clinical and morphological characteristics.

Gastric cancer is the first cause of cancer-related death in males and the second in female patients in Iran. Advanced cancer is usually associated with distant metastasis, which is uncontrollable. This study was conducted to compare the expression of and genes between gastric cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples in Iranian patients in order to better understand the role of these genes in this disease and to assess them as potential gastric cancer diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. This case-control study was conducted in 41 Iranian patients suffering from stage I to IV of Gastric Cancer diagnosed by pathologic and endoscopic tests. In this study, significant down-regulation of (p=0.001) and over-expression of (p=0.001) were observed in tumor tissues compared to the adjacent normal tissues. The results of the present study showed decreased expression in patients above 40 years, while the relationship between expression and age was not significant; also, a significant increase was observed in expression in patients above 40 years. Furthermore, Lymph node metastasis was observed in 59.52 % of the cases. The results showed that reduced and increased expression were related to lymph node metastasis. Based on results, a significant association was observed between tumor size and expression level. Furthermore, and expressions were assessed in different grades and stages to determine the association of this gene with cancer progression. The result indicates significant alteration in expression level of I and IV, II and IV, and III and IV stages. Although no significant association was observed between expression level and GC grade, the mean expression showed a significant difference between grade II and III as well as grade I and IV. Based on our results, these genes would be potential biomarkers.