Biomarkers of precancerous diseases of the gastric mucosa in schoolchildren of ethnic populations of Tyva

Introduction. Researchers have focused on identifying biomarkers for the risk of developing precancerous conditions in the gastric mucosa. CDX2, CK20, and CK7 proteins have been linked to precancerous conditions, even in childhood.

Aim. To study the expression of CDX2, CK20, and CK7 proteins in the gastric mucosal epithelium of schoolchildren with gastritis in ethnic populations of the Republic of Tyva.

Materials and methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among schoolchildren aged 7–17 in Tyva in 2017: 336 Mongoloid Tuvans and 135 Caucasians; 184 boys and 287 girls. Subsequently, children with gastrointestinal complaints underwent gastroscopy: 57 Tuvans of Mongoloid origin and 32 Caucasians (35 boys and 54 girls) with gastric mucosal samples collected and subsequently morphologically confirmed the diagnosis of gastritis. Biopsies were examined immunohistochemically to detect CDX2, CK20, and CK7 proteins in the gastric epithelium.

Results. CDX2 expression was determined only in the epithelium of the antral section in 4 schoolchildren (4.5%) and its differences in ethnic populations were not noted. CK7 expression was observed more often in the antral section of the stomach in Tuvans than in Caucasians (p = 0.038). In both stomach sections, no differences in CK20 expression were observed in children of ethnic populations. In Caucasians, there was a tendency for CK7 expression in the antrum to increase with age (p = 0.092). Whereas in Tuvans, CK7 expression rates in the antrum were high in younger schoolchildren and higher than in Caucasians of the same age (p = 0.022). In the body of the stomach, the expression of CK7 was also higher in Tuvans of the younger age group.

Conclusions. CK20 and CK7 expression patterns can be used as a criterion for identifying children with an increased risk of developing precancerous changes in the stomach and gastric cancer in adulthood.

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