Researchers have identified a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer, paving the way for diagnosis and possible treatments for the second deadliest cancer in the world.
Scientists have shown that the hormone receptor GHRH-R could be a potential biomarker for gastric cancer, enabling earlier diagnoses and better staging.
They also found that the GHRH-R antagonist MIA-602 inhibited gastric cancer in both cell lines and human xenografts.
“The GHRH receptor is both a biomarker that can confirm prognosis and a therapeutic target. Gastric cancer is the second deadliest in the world - we need new approaches,” said Andrew V Schally from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the US.
Though occurring less frequently than other cancers in the US, gastric cancer kills around 700,000 people worldwide each year, second only to lung cancer, researchers said.
The problem is two-fold: diagnoses are often delayed, allowing the cancer to spread, and there are few effective treatments.
Chemotherapy is often ineffective and surgery works best when the disease is caught early. The two-pronged study combined epidemiology and lab work.