Circulating basic fibroblast growth factor in serum of gastric ulcers patient as a biomarker of wound severity

Background: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a glycoprotein with stimulating ability of angiogenesis. In addition, bFGF plays an important role in wound healing process in some tissues for example gastrointestinal tract, but its ability for discrimination of various stages of wound severity in these diseases was not reported. Therefore, we aimed to determine the bFGF levels in gastric ulcer patients compared with healthy controls as a biomarker for staging the severity of wound. Methods: The study group consisted of 33 patients with gastric ulcer and 27 healthy controls. The diagnosis of patients was based on standard clinical, endoscopic, and histological criteria. Serum levels of bFGF were analyzed by an Elisa kit. Results: According to the histological findings, 19 (57.6%) patients were in moderate stage of ulcer and 14 (42.4%) were in the severe stage of gastric ulcer. The mean bFGF serum levels in patients group (7.8±1.3pg/ml) were lower than the healthy group (8.2±1.4pg/ml) in crude data, but in statistical analysis the differences were not significant (p=0.082). The mean bFGF serum levels in patients with severe stage of gastric ulcer were greater than the patients with moderate gastric ulcer (8.4±1.3 vs. 7.4±1.2 pg) and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The differences in serum bFGF levels in patients with severe stage of gastric ulcer vs. moderate gastric ulcer was significant. Therefore, serum bFGF level measurements can be used as a useful clinical tool for discrimination of patients with severe stage of gastric ulcer vs. moderate gastric ulcer, when endoscopic and histological examinations are not possible to perform.