Early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for gastric cancer: systems-level molecular basis of subsequent alterations in gastric mucosa from chronic atrophic gastritis to gastric cancer

PURPOSE: It is important to comprehend how the molecular mechanisms shift when gastric cancer in its early stages (GC). We employed integrative bioinformatics approaches to locate various biological signalling pathways and molecular fingerprints to comprehend the pathophysiology of the GC. To facilitate the discovery of their possible biomarkers, a rapid diagnostic may be made, which leads to an improved diagnosis and improves the patient’s prognosis. METHODS: Through protein–protein interaction networks, functional differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and pathway enrichment studies, we examined the gene expression profiles of individuals with chronic atrophic gastritis and GC. RESULTS: A total of 17 DEGs comprising 8 upregulated and 9 down-regulated genes were identified from the microarray dataset from biopsies with chronic atrophic gastritis and GC. These DEGs were primarily enriched for CDK regulation of DNA replication and mitotic M-M/G1 phase pathways, according to KEGG analysis (p > 0.05). We discovered two hub genes, MCM7 and CDC6, in the protein–protein interaction network we obtained for the 17 DEGs (expanded with increased maximum interaction with 110 nodes and 2103 edges). MCM7 was discovered to be up-regulated in GC tissues following confirmation using the GEPIA and Human Protein Atlas databases. CONCLUSION: The elevated expression of MCM7 in both chronic atrophic gastritis and GC, as shown by our comprehensive investigation, suggests that this protein may serve as a promising biomarker for the early detection of GC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43141-023-00539-0.