Altered expression of selenium-binding protein 1 in gastric carcinoma and precursor lesions

Selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1) has been shown to be greatly reduced in various human cancers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of SBP1 in precursor lesions and gastric carcinoma (GC) and to discuss the specific role of SBP1 in gastric carcinogenesis. Using tissue microarray (TMA) technology and immunohistochemical (IHC) survey, SBP1 expressions were evaluated based on a semi-quantitative scoring system developed for this study in 25 paired of GC and corresponding nonneoplastic epithelia tissues, 21 gastric ulcer, 13 gastric polyp, 19 chronic atrophic gastritis, 20 intestinal metaplasia, and 16 dysplasia tissues. We found abundant expression of SBP1 in most precursor lesions in addition to the nonneoplastic epithelia tissues. However, the expression of SBP1 was severely suppressed in most of the GC tissues (P = 0.000). Although no statistical differences were found between the expressions of SBP1 in gastric tissues with different levels of intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia (P > 0.05), the reduction in SBP1 seems to be correlated with clinical stage of GC (P = 0.044). Thus, SBP1 can be supposed as a diagnosis marker of GC. The suppression of SBP1 may be a late event in gastric carcinogenesis.