Predictive Value of Progastrin Titer at Diagnosis and of Progastrin Kinetics During Treatment in Cancer Patients

Progastrin is a pro-hormone that, in physiological conditions, is maturated in gastrin in G cells of the stomach. The role of the gastrin is to stimulate the secretion of gastric acids during digestion. It is also important for the regulation of cell growth of the gastric mucosal.

In a healthy person, progastrin is not detectable in the peripheral blood. However, progastrin is abnormally released in the blood of patients with different cancers (colorectal, gastric, ovarian, breast, cervix uterus, melanoma…) The gene GAST coding for progastrin is a direct target gene of the WNT/ß-catenin oncogenic pathway. The activation of this oncogenic pathway is an early event in cancer development.

Chronic activation of the WNT/ß-catenin oncogenic pathway occurs in almost all human solid tumors and is a central mechanism in cancer biology that induces cellular proliferation, blocking of differentiation leading to primary tumor growth and metastasis formation.

Progastrin measured in the peripheral blood of patients on treatments, could be a new powerful marker for diagnosis and prognosis at different stages.