Objective To identify micrometastasis in regional lymph nodes of gastric cancer by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) assay and to evaluate the clinical significance of micrometastasis. Methods To study 320 lymph nodes collected from January 2010 to June 2010， 281 of which were from 40 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone a standard gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy， and other 39 of which were from 10 patients with gastroduodenal ulcer. Made CEA， CK-19， and CK-20 as primers， and used qRT-PCR assay in addition to hematoxylin and eosin staining to detect the micrometastasis， and to analyze the clinicopathologic characteristics.Results Totally， micrometastasis were detected by qRT-PCR assay in 31 (15.34%，31/202) lymph nodes of 28 (70.00%， 28/40) patients. Thirty-nine lymph nodes from 10 patients with gastroduodenal ulcer were negative by qRT-PCR and HE staining. The degree of differentiation， depth of gastric mural invasion， and clinical stage had statistically significant correlation with the incidence of lymph node micrometastasis (P＜0.05). Conclusions qRT-PCR assay is a sensitive and specific method to detect lymph node micrometastasis in gastric cancer patients，and it has importantly clinical significance in evaluating clinical staging，prognosis and treatment prescription.
Objective To evaluate the status of lymph node metastasis and reasonable procedure in gastric cancer. Methods The incidence of metastases from gastric cancer to various regional lymph node stations was studied in 1 505 patients with gastric cancer. The patients underwent surgical resection from January 1995 to December 2004.Results Lymph node metastasis were observed in 928 of 1 505 cases (61.7%). Lymph node metastasis frequency was found in groups No.1 （32.9%），No.3 （28.7%）， No.2 （20.4%）， and No.7 （18.6%） at upper third stomach cancer；in groups No.3 （32.5%）， No.4 （24.7%）， No.7 （20.6%）， and No.1 （17.3%） at middle third stomach cancer； in groups No.6 （33.7%）， No.3 （31.3%）， No.4 （25.6%）， and No.7 （21.5%） at lower third stomach cancer. Conclusions Distribution of metastatic lymph node is clearly related to the location of the tumor. Anatomical extent of lymph node metastases in gastric cancer provid surgical guidance for surgeons.
Objective To summarize and analyze the different views on the lymph node metastasis and the extent of lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer.Methods The current domestic and foreign reports on lymph node metastasis and lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer were reviewed.Results Lymph node dissection of gastric cancer is based on clinical stage and the location of the tumor. Laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy in treatment of gastric cancer is a safe， feasible， effective， and minimally invasive technique with good outcomes for patients. Sentinel lymph node（SLN） in the clinical assessment of early gastric cancer is feasible，besides with high accuracy and sensitivity. Lymphatic mapping is an effective， easy， and safe method to guide lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer. Evidence-based lymphadenectomy in gastric cancer provide a new perspective to the extent. Conclusions It is difficult to evaluate those methods exactly. Researchers over the world should learn from each other and explore further in order to develop guiding principles in the end.
Objective To evaluate the role of preoperative 64 multi-detector spiral CT (MDCT) in predicting the extent of radical resection for advanced gastric cancer (AGC)． MethodsThe imaging data of 70 patients with AGC were collected and analyzed. The N2 lymph node metastasis was predicted by the MDCT indications, and compared with that postoperative pathological results. Results Sixty-two patients were treated with surgical intervention. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of N2 positive prediction by MDCT was 92.0% (46/50), 75.0% (9/12) and 88.7% (55/62), respectively. Extended resection was performed in 81.6% (40/49) patients who were predicted as N2 positive, and D2 resection was performed in 92.3% (12/13) patients who were predicted as N2 negative.Conclusion The MDCT is a valuable technique to predict N2 lymph node metastasis, and to determine the extent of resection for AGC.
Objective To investigate the expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and its clinical significance in blood plasma of patients with breast tumor. Methods The level of SDF-1 protein was examined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in blood plasma of 26 patients with breast benign tumor and 52 patients with breast cancer. Results The SDF-1 protein in blood plasma was detected in both breast benign tumor patients and breast cancer ones. The level of SDF-1 protein in patients with breast cancer was higher than that in ones with breast benign tumor, and there was a statistical difference between them （P=0.000）. In patients with breast cancer, the level of SDF-1 protein in axillary lymph node (ALN) metastasis positive patients was significantly higher than that in ALN metastasis negative ones （P=0.036）. Conclusion The level of SDF-1 protein in blood plasma may be a specific tumor marker. Its level is correlated with lymph node involvement in breast cancer.
Objective To investigate the expression of syndecan-1 protein in gastric carcinoma and normal gastric mucosa tissues, and find out the correlation between the expression of syndecan-1 protein and the clinicopathologic characteristics of gastric carcinoma. Methods The expression of syndecan-1 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry (ABC) in 60 cases of gastric carcinoma, including gastric carcinoma tissues and normal gastric mucosa tissues. Results Syndecan-1 protein expressed in all of the 60 normal gastric mucosa tissues, however, only 10 of 60 gastric carcinoma tissues (16.67%) showed positive expression. The positive rate of syndecan-1 expression in normal gastric mucosa tissues was higher than that in gastric carcinoma tissues, and this difference was statistically significant (χ2=65.88, P＜0.05). The expression level of syndecan-1 protein in gastric carcinoma tissues with lymph node metastasis was lower than that without lymph node metastasis, and this difference was also statistically significant (χ2 =18.62, P＜0.05). In addition, syndecan-1 expression was not correlated with patients’ age and position of tumor (Pgt;0.05), but correlated with the diameter， invasion depth and TNM stage of tumor (Plt;0.05). Conclusion The positive expression of syndecan-1 protein is low in gastric carcinoma tissue and has b correlation with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis.
Objective To investigate the expression of cerb B2 and CathepsinD in gastric carcinoma and its correlation with the biological behavior of gastric carcinoma (GC). MethodsThe expression was studied by immunohistochemical technique. The expression of cerb B2 and CathepsinD were analyzed with their relation to histologic types, depth of invasion, growth pattern, lymph node metastasis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma. ResultsThirtynine of the 102 gastric carcinoma specimens (38.24%) were positive for cerb B2 and correlated with depth of invasion (P＜0.05) and lymph node metastasis (P＜0.05); eightythree of the 102 gastric carcinoma specimens (81.37%) were positive for CathepsinD and correlated with depth of invasion (P＜0.05), growth pattern (P＜0.05), lymph node metastasis (P＜0.05) and blood vessels cancer embolus (P＜0.05). Prognosis of patients with gastric carcinoma with positive expression of cerb B2 or CathepsinD was poor. The 5year survival rate was significantly lower in gastric carcinoma patients with positive expression of cerb B2 or CathepsinD. Conclusion cerb B2 and CathepsinD are highly related to growth, invasion, metastasis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.
Objective To study the relationship between early gastric cancer and MiB-1 expression. Methods Resected early gastric cancer from 99 cases were studied by immunohistochemical method. Results MiB-1 proliferation index (MiB-1 PI) was related to patient ’s age, tumor size, location and depth of invasion. MiB-1 PI was higher in differentiated adenocarcinomas than in undifferentiated adenocarcinomas(P＜0.01). Cancers with lymphatic vessel invasion or lymph node metastasis had higher MiB-1 PI (P＜0.05). The postoperative survival was related to MiB-1 proliferation grade (MiB-1 PG), being higher in MiB-1 PG 1,2 grade than that in MiB-1 PG 3,4 grade. Conclusion Even in the early stage of gastric cancer, tumor proliferation activity was related to patients’ prognosis.
Objective To evaluate the potential of specific mRNA marker keratin 19(K19) to detect micrometastasis by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) .Methods One hundred and ninty four regional lymph nodes harvested from 6 cases of benign diseases, 4 cases of breast carcinoma, 5 cases of gastric carcinoma and 12 cases of colorectal carcinoma patients were examined by conventional pathology and amplifying tissue specific K19 mRNA by RT-PCR separately, then the two methods were compared with each other. Results None of the 34 lymph nodes which were pathological metastasis-negative from benign diseases expressed K19 mRNA by RT-PCR, all of the 28 regional lymph nodes which were pathological metastasis-positive from malignant cases showed trains of K19 mRNA by RT-PCR. Of the 132 lymph nodes which were pathological metastasis-negative from malignant cases, 11 lymph nodes were detected with micrometastasis by genetic diagnosis.Conclusion Genetic diagnosis of lymph node micrometastasis is more sensitive than conventional pathology and has diagnostic value and merits further study.
To investigate the relationship between clinicopathological features and lymph node metastasis in the primary gastric cancer and affer the basis for deciding appropriate extent of lymph node dissection, a total of 192 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and lymph node dissection for gastric cancer were analyzed retrospectively. Result: The total rate of lymph node metastasis was 60.4%, with 28.9% of the resected lymph nodes involved. The lymph node metastasis of C, M, A region and the whole stomach were 64.6%, 57.7%, 59.1% and 90.9% respectively. The rates of the lymph node metastasis increased successively in carcinoma of early, middle and late stages (Ｐ＜0.05), the rate of the infiltrative tumor (Borr Ⅲ，Ⅳ) being 76.5% which was significantly higher than that of the circumscribed tumor (Borr Ⅰ，Ⅱ) (43.2%)。 Relating with the tumor size ＜4cm in diameter showed lesser rate, while 4-8 cm and ＞8cm in diameter showed increasingly higher metastaticrate (Ｐ＜0.01). As a result, we should decide the appropriate extent of lymph node dissection during the operation on the basis of clinicopathological stages, type of Borrmann’s, site and maximum diameter of gastric cancer along with the state of lymph node metastasis in carcinoma of different region of the stomach.