Plasma Methylated RNF180 for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer

Background. RNF180 is a tumor suppressor gene involved in cell development, proliferation, and apoptosis. Methylation of RNF180 (mRNF180) leads to low expression of RNF180, which is closely related to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC). This study was designed to evaluate the potential performance of plasma mRNF180 as noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis of GC. Methods. A total of 156 participants, including 60 patients with GC, 39 with chronic superficial gastritis (CSG), 27 with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), and 30 with gastric ulcer (GU) were recruited for this study. Plasma mRNF180 level was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results. As a diagnostic target, mRNF180 had a sensitivity of 71.67% (95% CI: 58.36%–82.18%) and specificity of 59.38% (95% CI: 48.85%–69.14%). The area under the ROC curve value of mRNF180 was 0.731 (95% CI: 0.648%–0.813%) for differentiation of GC from benign gastric diseases (BGD). The effectiveness of mRNF180 was superior to that of CEA, CA199, and CA724. mRNF180 was positively correlated with age, tumor size, T stage, N stage, M stage, and clinical stage of patients with GC. Conclusions. Plasma mRNF180 might serve as a useful and noninvasive biomarker for the diagnosis of GC and can be used to evaluate its prognosis.