Abstract

Background: Adenocarcinoma is preceded by chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia. Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) is a peptide secreted by goblet cells, which is abundantly present in intestinal metaplasia. Aim: To evaluate the utility of serum TFF3 as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of intestinal metaplasia and gastric cancer. Methods: Single-center, cross-sectional study of 274 patients who consecutively underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with gastric biopsies (updated Sydney system). TFF3 levels were measured in serum by a commercial ELISA kit. Patients with normal histology or chronic atrophic gastritis without intestinal metaplasia comprised the control group. In addition, 14 patients with invasive gastric cancer were included as a reference group. The association between TFF3 levels and intestinal metaplasia was assessed by logistic regression. Results: Patients with intestinal metaplasia (n = 110) had a higher median TFF3 level as compared to controls (n = 164), 13.1 vs. 11.9 ng/mL, respectively (p = 0.024). Multivariable logistic regression showed a no significant association between TFF3 levels and intestinal metaplasia (OR = 1.20; 95%CI: 0.87–1.65; p-trend = 0.273). The gastric cancer group had a median TFF3 level of 20.5 ng/mL, and a significant association was found (OR = 3.26; 95%CI: 1.29–8.27; p-trend = 0.013). Conclusion: Serum levels of TFF3 do not discriminate intestinal metaplasia in this high-risk Latin American population. Nevertheless, we confirmed an association between TFF3 levels and invasive gastric cancer. © 2022 Elsevier España, S.L.U.