The Diagnostic Value Of Chemokine CC-Motif Ligand 18 (CCL18) For Gastric Cancer

Objective To determine the diagnostic value of chemokine CC-motif Ligand 18 (CCL18) for gastric cancer.Methods Immunohistochemistry assay was used to detect the expressions of CCL18 in 78 cases of gastric cancer, 30 cases of chronic gastritis and 30 normal gastric tissues, Diagnostic value was also compared with traditional tumor marker as CEA and CA19-9.Results The positive expression of CCL18 was in 76.92% cases of gastric cancer,which was significantly higher than in chronic gastritis and control groups(P<0.01).In this retrospective study,the sensitivity,specificity,Youden's index,positive predictive value(PPV) and negative predictive value(NPV) of CCL18 for diagnosis of gastric cancer were 76.92%,78.34%,0.5524,82.19% and 72.31%,respectively.The sensitivity of CCL18 expression for diagnosis of gastric cancer was significantly higher than that of CEA and CA19-9(P<0.01).However,its specificity was lower than CEA(P<0.05)but not lower than CA19-9(P=0.142).There were no significant differences in Youden's index,PPV and NPV among the three markers(P>0.05).The sensitivity can be up to 88.24% in 34 cases of early gastric cancer,which showed a significantly higher sensitivity than CEA and CA19-9.Similarly Youden's index(0.6658) was also higher than CEA and CA19-9.The sensitivity,specificity,Youden's index,PPV and NPV of the combined detection of CCL18,CEA and CA19-9 for diagnosis of gastric cancer were 97.44%,61.67%, 0.5911,76.77% and 94.87%.The sensitivity, Youden's index and NPV were improved.Conclusion Chemokine CC-motif Ligand 18 shows a high sensitivity in the diagnosis of gastric cancer,especially in early gastric cancer.It is suggested in this study that CCL18,as a novel candidate of gastric cancer marker,may improve the detective rate of the early gastric cancer.