A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

CXCL12 and eotaxin are independent prognostic serum biomarkers in gastric cancer




AuthorsBrodkin, Jefim; Kaprio, Tuomas; Mustonen, Harri; Leppä, Alli; Kokkola, Arto; Salmi, Marko; Jalkanen, Sirpa; Haglund, Caj; Böckelman, Camilla

Publication year2026

Journal: Scientific Reports

Article number10683

Volume16

eISSN2045-2322

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46511-z

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingOpen Access

Publication channel's open availability Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46511-z

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/522897225

Self-archived copy's licenceCC BY

Self-archived copy's versionPublisher`s PDF


Abstract

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Its poor prognosis primarily results from a late diagnosis and the lack of effective treatments for advanced disease. Thus, we aimed to identify new prognostic serum biomarkers to aid clinical decision-making. Our patient cohort consisted of 240 individuals who underwent surgery for histologically verified gastric adenocarcinoma in the Department of Surgery at Helsinki University Hospital between 2000 and 2009. To determine the serum protein concentrations of cytokines and growth factors, we utilized Bio-Rad’s premixed Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 27- and 21-plex assay kits. Among the 48 biomarkers we analyzed, three emerged as statistically significant prognostic markers for disease-specific survival using the Cox proportional hazards univariate analysis: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23–0.63, p < 0.001), stem cell factor (HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.19–0.77, p = 0.007), and eotaxin (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37–0.89, p = 0.013). Our multivariate survival analysis revealed that, among the 48 biomarkers analyzed, CXCL12 and eotaxin served as independent prognostic markers among gastric cancer patients. The prognostic effect of inflammatory serum biomarkers in gastric cancer may provide new insights into the immunological microenvironment of disease.


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Funding information in the publication
This study was financially supported by the Finnish Cancer Foundation (CH and JB), Finska Läkaresällskapet (CH, CB, and JB), the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation (CH), the Emil Aaltonen Foundation (JB), the Finnish Medical Foundation (JB), the Mary and Georg C. Ehrnrooth Foundation (JB), the Kurt and Doris Palander Foundation (JB), Medicinska understödsföreningen Liv och Hälsa (CH, TK, and CB), the Waldemar von Frenckell foundation (JB), and the Orion Research Foundation (JB). The funders played no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, the decision to publish, or in producing the manuscript.


Last updated on 17/04/2026 01:16:27 PM