it has been determined that a specific metaplastic lineage that contains immunoreactivity for a trefoil polypeptide , spasmolytic peptide , is associated with and gives rise to the vast majority of human adenocarcinomas . the identification of this spasmolytic polypeptide expressing metaplasia is a major factor for grading of biopsies of the stomach to assess risk for gastric cancer . it also forms the basis of a method for serological screening for those at risk for gastric cancer . in a preferred embodiment , antibodies to spasmolytic peptide are used in immunostaining of biopsies of gastric tissue obtained by endoscopy for grading biopsies . those patients having these cells , characterized by a morphology more typical of a type of cell present normally in the intestine and not stomach , brunner &# 39 ; s gland cells , are at risk of developing adenocarinoma . since these cells express hsp , antibodies or nucleic acid probes hybridizing to mrna encoding hsp , can be used for rapid detection of the cells in tissue biopsies . the antibodies can also be used in serological tests for screening and following patients at risk for gastric cancer . in combination with evidence of previous or present invention with h . pylori , the tests are predictive of the liklihood of developing adenocarcinoma .