1Departments of Surgery Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea. 2Departments of Pathology Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea. 3Departments of Genetic Engineering Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We compared c-erbB-2 oncogene amplification and oncoprotein expression, trying to identify the biologic and prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 in adendegrees Carcinoma of the stomach.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 43 cases of gastric cancer were analyzed for amplification of c-erbB-2 by differential polymerase chain reaction and for overexpression of gene product by immunohistdegrees Chemistry.
RESULTS: The amplification was detected in 13 cases (30%).
Enhanced c-erbB-2 immunoreactivity was observed in 30% (13/43) of tumors. Tumors with gene amplification generally stained strongly (p=0.003). Although the frequency of amplification and overexpression of c-erbB-2 was increased with advanced gastric cancer and with lymph node metastasis, this difference was not statistically significant. c-erbB-2 gene amplification or protein overexpression showed a trend toward a better five year survival rate, but this did not reach a statistical significance.
CONCLUSION: Amplification and/or overexpression of the c-erbB-2 may be of value in clarifying the biologic characteristics of the human gastric cancer.
However, more sensitive and more speci fic methods of identifying gene amplification are needed and the standardization of the staining method as well as guidelines for interpreting the staining result are mandatory for this purpose.
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