Pepsinogens and Gastrin-17 as Gastric Cancer Screening Serum Markers in Iran

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second cause of cancer related death in the world and has a heterogenous geographic pattern of distribution (Vannella et al., 2012). Different factors have been proposed in the pathogenesis of GC including helicobacter pylori (HP) infection (Zheng et al., 2014), smoking (Zhong et al., 2012), diet (Lin et al., 2014) and family history (Mansour-Ghanaei et al., 2012). GC may develop by progression from its precancerous condition, called gastric atrophy (GA) (Kikuchi et al., 2011). Subjects with chronic GA are more susceptible to GC (Kikuchi et al., 2011; Vannella et al., 2012). So, diagnosis and treatment of this condition has a pivotal role in GC prevention. In addition, diagnosis and treatment of GC in early stages is very important in controlling this fatal disease, especially in high-risk areas. Endoscopic examination of the stomach is the method of choice for diagnosis GA and GC (Kikuchi et al., 2011; Rollan et al., 2006). But, it is an expensive and invasive method and