Patients affected by T3-T4/N0-N+/M0 GC/GEJ cancer were treated with the COI regimen for 4 cycles followed by restaging and gastroresection with D2 lymphadenectomy.
COX-1 was similarly expressed in GC and MALT as in intact mucosa, while COX-2 mRNA was detected only in tumor tissue, being attenuated by H.pylori eradication in GC and abolished by this therapy in MALT-lymphoma.
Since gastrin is recognized as a effective gastric mitogen, it could be capable to induce COX-2, a potent tumor growth promoting and angiogenic factor, we decided 1) to compare the seroprevalence of HP and its cytotoxic protein, CagA, in gastric cancer patients with those in age- and gender-matched controls; 2) to determine the gene expression of gastrin and its receptors (CCK(B)-R) in gastric cancer, 3) to assess the plasma levels, gastric lumen and tumor tissue contents of gastrin and 4) to examine the mRNA and enzyme protein expression of COX-1 and COX-2 in cancer tissue and intact gastric mucosa before and after HP eradication.