STAT1 as a potential diagnostic biomarker for gastric cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Gastric cancer is a major contributor to cancer‑related mortality across the globe. The discovery of novel molecular biomarkers is critical for achieving early diagnosis and developing targeted therapeutic strategies for this disease. The role of STAT1 in gastric cancer has not been fully elucidated. Objective: This research was designed to analyze the expression profile of STAT1 in gastric cancer and explore its feasibility as a diagnostic biomarker. Methods: We screened differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between gastric cancer specimens and normal controls using GSE63089 and GSE2685. Common upregulated DEGs were identified using Venn diagram analysis and further evaluated in GSE49515. STAT1 expression was examined using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database and validated in clinical gastric cancer samples and paired adjacent normal tissues. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic value of STAT1. Results: A total of 8,058 DEGs were detected in GSE63089 and 2,139 DEGs in GSE2685. Venn diagram analysis revealed that 94 common upregulated DEGs were shared between the two datasets. Analysis of GSE49515 identified STAT1 as the only consistently upregulated gene among these common DEGs. Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that STAT1 levels were notably higher in gastric cancer, especially in diffuse‑type samples, than in normal samples. Validation using clinical samples confirmed significant upregulation of STAT1 in gastric cancer blood samples compared with normal controls. ROC curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.8645, indicating favorable diagnostic performance. Conclusion: These findings indicate that STAT1 has potential as a diagnostic biomarker for gastric cancer.