Changes of Genetic Loci among Gastric Cancer Patients, Southeastern Iran, 2017

Characterization of genes and precise assessment of the number of copies are crucial for understanding the basis of emergence, progression, and identification of predictive markers of tumor malignancy. This study aimed to investigate the role of the changes in some central genes in gastric cancer.

In this experimental study, 30 patients with gastric surgery were selected by random sampling from four hospitals in Kerman to investigate BAX, BCL-2, P53, and MICAL-2 genes in cancerous and healthy tissues. They were then studied using real-time RT-qPCR, PCR- SSCP, and sequencing.

Demographic analysis demonstrated that 66.6% of patients with gastric cancer were men. The age range of men and women was 26-93 and 33-83 years, respectively. In terms of tumor pathology, there was 93.3% adenocarcinoma, 6.6% gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), 16.6% intestinal type, 10% diffuse type, and 73.3% unknown type. The two exons of the p53 gene showed a 2.04 and 3.81 fold increase in expression relative to normal adjacent tissue. Results showed the upregulation of Bcl-2 (1.54%) and MICAL2 (2.23%), while the expression of Bax was downregulated (0.87%). Bcl-2/Bax ratio was not solely correlated with the progression and clinical outcome of gastric cancer.

The data suggest that the changes in BAX, BCL2, P53, and MICAL-2 genes play a key role in gastric cancer.