The association between the acute-phase reactant proteins (APRPs) and cancer has long been established. There have been numerous reports correlating altered levels of various APRPs with different types of cancers. However, researchers are often quick to dismiss the use of these APRPs as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer because alterations in APRP concentrations are observed in a wide range of diseases. Recent progress in proteomics studies which profiled the serum proteins of cancer patients and those of normal individuals indicated that the altered APRP expressions were different for distinct types, subtypes, and even stages of cancer. Interestingly, these data are in agreement with those observed earlier using immunochemical and biochemical assays. In view of this compelling association of different patterns of APRPs with various types of cancers and in an apparent shift of paradigm, we present in this review some indications that APRP fingerprinting may be used as complementary cancer biomarkers.
Gastric cancer (GC) is a progressive process initiated by Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation. Initial recognition of H. pylori involves Toll-like receptors (TLRs), central molecules in the host inflammatory response. Here, we investigated the association between novel polymorphisms in genes involved in the TLR signalling pathway, including TLR2, TLR4, LBP, MD-2, CD14 and TIRAP, and risk of H. pylori infection and related GC.