Identification of the Shared Gene Signatures and Biological Mechanism in Chronic Atrophic Gastritis and Gastric cancer

Abstract Chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG), a persistent inflammatory reaction in the gastric mucosa, is considered a precursor to gastric cancer (GC). However, the specific mechanism underlying the development of GC from CAG has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, it is essential to explore the genes and pathways driving CAG progression towards GC for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CAG patients. In this study, we obtained 78 common genes shared between CAG and GC through database mining. KEGG and GO functional enrichment analyses identified 21 enriched pathways and 659 GO terms associated with these 78 genes. Utilizing the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, we identified the top five hub targets: TP53, CTNNB1, EGFR, MUC1, and CD44. mRNA and protein expression levels of these targets were found to be higher in GC tissues compared to normal tissues. Furthermore, mRNA expression levels of TP53, EGFR, and CD44 correlated with poor overall survival (OS) in GC patients. These findings offer potential therapeutic targets for further clinical and basic research.