Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of c-Met in predicting progression of precancerous gastric lesions. METHODS: A population-based study was conducted to detect the overexpression of c-Met by immunohisto- chemical analysis in 124 subjects with precancerous gastric lesions. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated for the association of c-Met overexpression with the risk of advanced gastric lesions. RESULTS: The positive rates of c-Met were 55.7% in intestinal metaplasia (IM) and 64.8% in dysplasia (DYS), respectively. Stratified analysis indicated that the proportion of c-Met overexpression was 71.4% for IM progressive group, significantly higher than that for IM persistent group (40.0%, P<0.05). Compared to the IM persistent group, unconditional logistic regression showed that OR of c-Met overexpression for the IM progressive group was 7.416 (95% CI: 2.084-26.398). CONCLUSION: c-Met plays an important role in gastric carcinogenesis. Detection of c-Met is of value in predicting progression of precancerous gastric lesions from IM to DYS.