Determinants of plasma pepsinogen levels in a population at high risk for stomach cancer in venezuela

Abstract

Determinants of plasma pepsinogens (PG) levels were studied in 1365 participants in a chemoprevention trial for gastric pre-cancerous lesions being conducted in Venezuela. Gastric biopsies, plasma samples and information on smoking and dietary habits were obtained at baseline examination. Both PG-I and PG-II levels increased progressively with the level of Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric biopsies, resulting in no clear trend in the I/II ratio. Instead, there was a progressive decrease in the I/II ratio with increasing degrees of infiltration of polynuclear cells and monocytes, atrophy, intestinal metaplasia and the stage of pre-cancerous lesions. The mean I/II ratios for atrophic gastritis or more advanced lesions were less than 4.0. When subjects with the I/II ratio 4 or higher were used as controls, severe reduction in the I/II ratio (< 2.0) was inversely associated with tobacco consumption. This may be due to a pharmacological effect of nicotine. The severe reduction of I/II ratio was also inversely associated with fresh fruit consumption. In addition, a decreased I/II ratio was positively associated with rice/pasta and arepas (tortilla made from corn) consumption and inversely associated with plantain consumption. Possible effects of vitamins and starchy food on the development of atrophic gastritis need to be studied further.

Green Tea Consumption and Chronic Atrophic Gastritis: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Green Tea Production Village.

“…Although several previous studies reported the significant relations of lifestyle to the risk of H. pylori infection and/or CAG, other studies have not reported such relations, and findings are inconsistent [5][6][7][14][15][16][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. There are no studies reporting the significant relationship between green tea consumption and the risk of H. pylori infection or CAG.…”

Determinants of plasma anti-oxidant vitamin levels in a population at high risk for stomach cancer

“…The study population was drawn from the participants of a double-blind chemoprevention trial aimed at assessing the effect of anti-oxidant vitamins on the progression of gastric pre-cancerous lesions, in the framework of the Gastric Cancer Control Program of Tachira State, Venezuela (Kato et al, 1995). Eligible subjects were permanent residents of the state of Tachira, between 35 and 69 years of age, who, after double-contrast X-ray, were selected to undergo gastroscopic examination.…”

“…Caution should be used in generalizing these results to other populations as the study subjects were derived from participants in a gastric cancer screening program (Kato et al, 1995), and gastric symptoms represented a possible reason for participating in this program. In addition, most of the adult population in high-risk areas for stomach cancer had some type of gastric pre-cancerous lesion, such as superficial gastritis, chronic gastritis, chronic atrophic gastritis or intestinal metaplasia (Correa et al, 1970).…”

“…Using the baseline data from a chemoprevention trial on pre-cancerous lesions of the stomach in Venezuela (Kato et al, 1995), we had an opportunity of studying plasma levels of anti-oxidants (several types of carotenoid, vitamin C and vitamin E) by demographic, dietary and other life-style factors. This investigation can provide useful information for a number of on-going intervention trials involving anti-oxidant treatment.…”

Association of serum pepsinogen with atrophic body gastritis in Costa Rica

“…The optimal cut-off points of PGI and/or PGI/PGII for the detection of precancerous lesions and gastric cancer may vary between populations [9,24,[26][27][28][29][30][31]. This may be due to genetic differences, prevalence and characteristics of infection with H. pylori or other micro-organisms, lifestyle factors and also the local definition of atrophy and the diagnostic methods used.…”