The evolution of gastric carcinogenesis is still poorly known. For this work we used the
model of gastric carcinogenesis in Cebus apella, a non-human primate from the New World.
We treated six animals with N-methyl-nitrosourea (MNU). During the studies, clinical,
hematological and biochemical analyzes were performed, including C-reactive protein, folic
acid and homocysteine. All animals developed pre-neoplastic lesions and five (05) of them
died of drug intoxication before the development of neoplasia. The last surviving animal from
MNU treatment developed intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma, seen through endoscopy
on the 940th day. The levels of C-reactive protein and the concentration of homocysteine
increased and the level of folic acid experienced with the presence of disturbances in the
animals treated with MNU. The hematological and biochemical results corroborate the
observations found in patients with gastric cancer, proving that Cebus apella are interesting in
vivo models to study this neoplasm. Thus, we conclude that homocysteine and folic acid
levels are altered according to the stage of carcinogenesis, but we could observe that
homocysteine increases as the tumor is established, in evolution, folic acid levels decrease
with tumor progression. Corroborating with studies that show that homocysteine and folic
acid levels are inversely provided and that they are bichemical parameters sensitive to the
development of cancer and that thus can be used as biochemical markers for tracking
carcinogenic development.
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