Abstract:Objective To explore the expression of Vav1 protein in peripheral blood and gastric cancer tissues and its relationship and clinical significance. Methods In this study, 200 patients with pathological diagnosis of gastric cancer who accepted radical surgery were recruited as operation group, and 62 patients diagnosed as recrudescence after operation were recruited as recurrent group, also 100 normal cases were recruited as control group. Immunohistochemical technique was performed to test the expression of Vav1 protein in the paraffin sections of gastric cancer tissues and normal mucosa, and the expression of Vav1 protein in peripheral blood was tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results The level of Vav1 protein in the peripheral blood of the operation group before operation was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After operation, the level of Vav1 in the peripheral blood of the operation group decreased significantly, which was not significantly different from that of the control group (P > 0.05). The expression of Vav1 protein in the peripheral blood of the recurrent group was higher than the preoperative level of the operation group (P < 0.05). The expression of Vav1 protein in the gastric cancer tissues of the operation group was higher than that in the normal gastric mucosa (P < 0.05). The expression of Vav1 protein in the recurrent group was higher than that in the operation group (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were found between tumor tissue Vav1 expression and peripheral blood Vav1 expression in both operation group and recurrent group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Vav1 expression increases in gastric cancer tissues and peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer, and significant correlation is found between them. Vav1 level in the peripheral blood may serve as a new tumor marker to evaluate patients’ condition and predict recrudescence.