Expression Levels of eIF4E and c-Myc Are Elevated in Human Gastric Cancer and Premalignant Conditions

OBJECTIVE: To compare the expression levels of eu-karyotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and c-Myc proteins in clinically collected samples of non-cancerous gastric mucosa, precancerous gastric conditions, and gastric cancer (GA). STUDY DESIGN: A total of 202 samples of gastric mucosal biopsies and surgical resection specimens di-agnosed with GA were collected from March 2016 to December 2017 in Wuhan Puren Hospital. These included 23 cases of chronic non-atrophic gastritis, 30 cases of chronic atrophic gastritis, 25 cases of low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, 27 cases of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, and 97 cases of GA. All adjacent tissues of 2-3 cm away from the edge of the GA lesions were also sampled accordingly to serve as non-cancerous tissue controls. The expressions of eIF4E and c-Myc in the specimens were examined using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In samples of chronic non-atrophic gastritis, the expression level of eIF4E or c-Myc was low. In samples of premalignant conditions and GA, the rates of cells with positive eIF4E and c-Myc expressions were significantly elevated (p< 0.01). GA samples had the highest expression levels of eIF4E and c-Myc (p < 0.01). As for paracancerous samples, the expression level of eIF4E protein in those premalignant tissues was higher than that in non-cancerous counterparts (p< 0.05 or p< 0.01). Importantly, both c-Myc and eIF4E were expressed simultaneously in either precancerous groups or cancer mucosal tissues, showing a significant correlation. CONCLUSION: The expression of eIF4E protein in premalignant conditions may act as an early indicator of GA and a biomarker for its diagnosis. It probably suggests that the elevated expression of eIF4E in the initial stage could lead to the activation of downstream oncogenes like c-Myc. This result provides us some clues for the GA diagnosis and therapy in the future.