CDK4在胃癌中的表达及临床意义

目的研究CDK4在胃癌组织中的表达与临床病理特征之间的关系。方法采用免疫组化方法检测CDK4在70例胃癌组织及部分相应癌旁组织中的表达,结合患者的性别、年龄、肿瘤大小、部位、分化程度、Borrmann分型、浸润深度、淋巴结转移和TNM分期等临床病理参数进行综合分析。结果胃癌组织和癌旁组织中的CDK4蛋白阳性表达分别为65.71%、18.75%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。CDK4在低分化组阳性表达率为78.05%(32/41),中高分化组阳性表达率为48.28%(14/29),两组间比较差异有统计学差异(P0.05,χ2=6.693);CDK4在无淋巴结转移组中阳性表达率为44.83%(13/29),有淋巴结转移组中阳性表达率为80.49%(33/41),两者间比较有显著统计学差异(P0.01,χ2=9.587);CDK4在Ⅰ+Ⅱ期阳性表达率为53.13%(17/32),Ⅲ+Ⅳ期组阳性表达率为76.32%(29/38),两组间比较差异有统计学差异(P0.05,χ2=4.147);CDK4蛋白阳性表达与患者的性别、年龄、肿瘤大小、部位、Borrmann分型、浸润深度均无明显相关(P0.05)。结论 CDK4在胃癌组织中存在着过表达,在评估胃癌的发生、发展中有一定的临床价值。CDK4表达水平与肿瘤组织分化程度、淋巴结有无转移、TNM分期有关。     

Lymph node metastasis as a single predictor in patients with Borrmann type I gastric cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Borrmann type I gastric cancers are rare. Its clinicopathological features have never been reported. METHODOLOGY: A total of 33 patients with Borrmann type I gastric cancer was evaluated. 570 patients with Borrmann type II, III and IV were used as references. RESULTS: Borrmann type I gastric cancer occurred preferably in upper stomach, and had more T1 and T2 cancer invasion and early TNM stages, but less lymph node metastasis. Histologically, it had more intestinal type and less scirrhous stromal reaction. Five-year disease-free and overall survival rates in patients with Borrmann type I tumors were significantly higher than that of other types (73.3% vs. 45.8%; P = 0.02, and 72.6% vs. 47.8%; P = 0.01, respectively). Analysis of the relation between clinicopathological factors and survival showed that only lymph node metastasis significantly affected on disease-free survival with a relative risk of 8.4. Lymph node metastasis also affected overall survival rate at a marginal level (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Borrmann type I gastric cancer has higher survival rate. Lymph node metastasis is a single prognostic indicator for survival.     

肿瘤相关巨噬细胞浸润与胃癌Borrmann分型及VEGF表达的关系

目的探讨肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(TAM)浸润与胃癌Borrmann分型及胃癌组织中血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)表达的关系。方法应用免疫组织化学方法检测30例胃癌组织中CD68、VEGF的表达。结果 CD68阳性细胞在不同Borrmann分型组织中的浸润程度不同,Ⅲ～Ⅳ型多于Ⅰ～Ⅱ型(P=0.008)。胃腺癌细胞、癌旁正常腺细胞表达VEGF,不同Borrmann分型与正常组织中的表达无统计学差异(P>0.05)。结论 TAM浸润与胃癌大体分型相关,TAM通过上调VEGF表达促进血管生成,促进胃癌细胞的恶性行为。     

Ezrin和HER2在胃癌组织芯片中的表达及意义

目的:探讨Ezrin蛋白在胃癌组织中的表达,与肿瘤浸润、转移的关系及与HER2的相互作用.方法:485例原发性胃癌组织中高、中、低分化胃癌分别为19例、235例和231例;有淋巴结转移者353例;TNM分期Ⅰ、Ⅱ期166例,Ⅲ、Ⅳ期319例.另外取距肿瘤7cm的正常胃黏膜组织40例.制成8个组织芯片蜡块,用免疫组织化学方法检测石蜡包埋的胃及胃癌组织中的Ezrin和人类表皮生长因子受体2(hum an epidermal growth factor receptor 2,HER2)蛋白表达.所有患者均经外科手术治疗,病理诊断明确,术前未经放、化疗.结果:Ezrin和HER2在胃癌组织中高表达,二者均与肿瘤Lauren’s分型和肿瘤分化程度相关(χ2=17.625,χ2=20.386,均P=0.000;χ2=9.474,P=0.009,χ2=13.377,P=0.010);Ezrin同时还与组织学(日本分型)、TNM分期、浸润深度和淋巴结转移相关(χ2=37.542,P=0.000;χ2=12.237,P=0.002;χ2=21.194,P=0.002;χ2=9.868,P=0.007).Ezrin和HER2蛋白表达呈正相关(r=0.129,P=0.004).结论:Ezrin可能是预测胃癌组织浸润、转移有用的指标;联合检测Ezrin和HER2可作为判断胃癌预后、筛选高危转移患者的有效指标并有可能用于指导胃癌的个体化治疗.     

Regional lymph node metastasis as a predictor of peritoneal carcinomatosis in patients with Borrmann type IV gastric carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative survival of patients with Borrmann type IV gastric carcinoma is significantly worse than that in patients with other Borrmann types of gastric carcinomas. The most common pattern of recurrence in patients with Borrmann type IV gastric carcinoma is peritoneal metastasis. We examined the predictors of developing peritoneal metastasis. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between peritoneal metastasis and Borrmann type IV gastric carcinoma. We also examined the dependence of the peritoneal metastasis on clinicopathological findings. RESULTS: Borrmann type IV was an independent prognostic factor of survival by multivariate analysis, and regional lymph node metastasis was an independent predictor of peritoneal metastasis in patients with Borrmann type IV gastric carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Because type of lymph node dissection was not associated with developing peritoneal metastasis, early detection of cancer without lymph node metastasis may be the only means of improving survival in patients with Borrmann type IV gastric cancer.     

Correlation between serum levels of interleukin-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor in gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are associated with the disease status of gastric carcinoma. However, their relationship remains unclear. This study aims to determine and correlate serum levels of VEGF and IL-6 in gastric carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 107 patients receiving gastrectomy entered this study. Serum levels of VEGF and IL-6 were measured by using ELISA, and were analyzed by using the Student's t-test to compare means and by Pearson correlation analysis to calculate correlation coefficients with respect to pathological characteristics including depth of tumor invasion, Laurén's classification, tumor location, Borrmann classification, and the status of lymph node metastasis. RESULTS: Serum VEGF levels were significantly higher in patients with mixed type carcinoma (387.5 +/- 176.9 vs 255.3 +/- 154.1 pg/mL, P = 0.047) or lymph node metastasis (339.1 +/- 205.1 vs 223.2 +/- 197.4 pg/mL, P = 0.007). Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with Borrmann type IV carcinoma, compared with Borrmann type II and III carcinoma. In general, no correlation was noted between serum VEGF levels and IL-6 levels (r = 0.142, P = 0.145), but significant correlation was found in patients with early gastric carcinoma (r = 0.627, P = 0.004) or mixed type carcinoma (r = 0.804, P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the correlation between serum VEGF and IL-6 levels in distinct subsets of gastric carcinoma patients, and indicates that IL-6 may play a role for the angiogenesis of gastric carcinoma via modulation of VEGF.     

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and its correlation with inducible nitric oxide synthase in gastric cancer

AIM:To investigate the clinical significance of theexpression of VEGF_(165)mRNA and the correlation withvascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein andinducible nitric oxide synthase (iNO) in human gastriccancer.METHODS:We tested VEGF_(165)mRNA expression in 31 casesof resected gastric cancer specimens and normal pairedgastric mucosae by RT-PCR.Total RNA was extracted withTRIzol reagents,transcribed into cDNA with oligo (dT_(15))priming,inner controlled with β-actin expression andagarose gel isolated after PCR.VEGF expression wasquantitated with IS1000 imaging system.Meanwhile wealso examined expression levels of VEGF protein and iNOSin 85 cases of gastric cancer.All paraffin-embeddedsamples were immunohistochemically stained by streptavidin-peroxidase method (SP).RESULTS:The mean expression of VEGF_(165)mRNA ingastric cancer was 1.125±0.356,significantly higher thanthat of normal paired mucosae,which was 0.7604±0.278.The data indicated that the expression level ofVEGF_(165)mRNA was well related to lymph node metastasisand TNM stages of UICC.The expression levels in patientswith lymph node metastasis and without lymph nodemetastasis were 1.219±0.377 and 0.927±0.205 respectively(P<0.05).The expression in stages Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ was0.934±0.194,1.262±0.386 respectively (P<0.01).Furtheranalysis showed the lymph node metastasis rate in thegroup with over-expression of VEGF was higher than thatin the group with low expression of VEGF (83.3% vs 46.2%),and the ratio of stage Ⅲ Ⅳ in the group with over-expression of VEGF was also higher than that in the groupwith low expression with VEGF (77.8% vs 33.8%) (P<0.05).The positive rates of expression of VEGF protein and iNOSin 85 cases of gastric cancer were 75.4% and 58.8%respectively,and 50.1% of the patients showed positivestaining both for iNOS and VEGF,the correlation with thetwo factors was significant (P=0.018).But more intensive analysis showed the immunoreactive grades of VEGF werenot associated with that of iNOS.CONCLUSIONS:The expression of VEGF_(165)mRNA is wellrelated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stages of UlCCin gastric cancer,and is concerned with the invasivenessand metastasis of gastric cancer.The relationship can beobserved between the expression of VEGF and iNOS in gastriccancer.     

High level of ezrin expression in colorectal cancer tissues is closely related to tumor malignancy

AIM： To investigate the ezrin expression in normal colorectal mucosa and colorectal cancer tissues, and study the correlation between ezrin expression in colorectal cancer tissues and tumor invasion and metastasis. METHODS： Eighty paraffin-embedded cancer tissue samples were selected from primary colorectal adenocarcinoma. Twenty-eight patients had well- differentiated, 22 had moderately differentiated and 30 had poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Forty-five patients and 35 patients had lymph node metastasis. Forty-five patients were of Dukes A to B stage, and 35 were of C to D stage. Another 22 paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of normal colorectal epithelium （〉 5 cm away from the edge of the tumor） were selected as the control group. All patients with colorectal cancer were treated surgically and diagnosed histologically, without preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The immunohistochemistry was used to detect the ezrin expression in paraffin-embedded normal colorectal mucosa tissues and colorectal cancer tissue samples. RESULTS： Ezrin expression in colorectal cancer was significantly higher than in normal colorectal mucosa （75.00% vs 9.09%, P 〈 0.01）, and there was a close relationship between ezrin expression and the degree of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and Dukes stage （88.46% vs 50.00%, P 〈 0.01; 94.28% vs 51.11%, P 〈 0.01; 94.28% vs 51.11%, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Ezrin expression is obviously higher in colorectal cancer tissues than in normal colorectal mucosa tissues, and the high level of ezrin expression is closely related to the colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis process.     

Expression of COX-2 proteins in gastric mucosal lesions

AIM: To investigate the expression of COX-2 proteins in gastric mucosal lesions and to assess the relationship between COX-2 expression and type, pathologic stage, differentiation, or lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer and the relationship between COX-2 expression and H pylori infection in gastric mucosal lesions. METHODS: Thirty patients with gastric carcinoma underwent surgical resection. Samples were taken from tumor site and paracancerous tissues, and ABC immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of COX-2 proteins. H pylori was determined by rapid urea test combined with pathological stating/14C urea breath test. RESULTS: The positive rate and staining intensity of mutant COX-2 gene expression in gastric cancer were significantly higher than those in paracancerous tissues (66.7% vs 26.7%) (P<0.01, P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between COX-2 and pathologic stage or lymph node metastasis type of gastric carcinoma (76.0% vs 20.0%, 79.2% vs 16.7%) (P<0.05). No correlation was found between COX-2 expression and type or grade of differentiation (P>0.05). COX-2 expression of intestinal metaplasia (IM) or dysplasia (DYS) with positive H pylori was significantly higher than that with negative H pylori (50.6% vs 18.1%, 60.0% vs 33.3%) (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: COX-2 overexpression was found in a large proportion of gastric cancer tissues compared with matched non-cancerous tissues and was significantly associated with advanced tumor stage and lymph node metastasis. Overexpression of COX-2 plays an important role in tumor progression of gastric cancer. COX-2 may also play a role in the early development/promotion of gastric carcinoma and is associated with H pylori infection.     

胃癌淋巴结转移影响因素临床分析

背景:胃癌是常见的消化道恶性肿瘤,淋巴结转移是其最主要的转移方式,亦是影响根治性切除术后胃癌患者预后的重要因素。目的:探讨胃癌淋巴结转移与患者临床病理特点之间的相关性。方法:对2007年1月～2008年1月在浙江省诸暨市人民医院行胃癌根治术的72例病例行回顾性分析,总结其临床病理特点。结果:性别、年龄和肿瘤部位与胃癌淋巴结转移均不相关(P0.05);胃癌的TNM分期越晚,淋巴结转移率越高(P0.01);脉管内有癌栓者的淋巴结转移率显著高于脉管内无癌栓者(84.2%对52.8%,P0.05):肿瘤浸润浆膜和浆膜外者的淋巴结转移率显著高于肿瘤浸润浆膜以内者(86.4%对28.6%,P0.01);低分化胃癌的淋巴结转移率显著高于高中分化胃癌(75.0%对39.3%,P0.01)。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,TNM分期和肿瘤浸润深度是胃癌淋巴结转移的危险因素,RR分别为9.000和9.335。结论:肿瘤的TNM分期和浸润深度是影响胃癌淋巴结转移的主要因素。     

Multivariate prognostic study on node-positive gastric cancer: is tumor size a prognostic indicator?

Background/Aims: We analyzed the clinicopathological factors of patients with node-positive gastric cancer, evaluated the prognostic factors associated with long-term survival and clarified the effect of tumor size on long-term survival. Methodology: The study included 591 patients who underwent curative resection for node-positive gastric cancer. Clinicopathological prognostic variables were evaluated as predictors of long-term survival by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The 5-year survival rate was influenced by tumor size, tumor location, depth on invasion, level of lymph node metastasis, Borrmann classification, histological type, liver metastasis, peritoneal dissemination and disease stage. Of these, independent prognostic factors were depth on invasion and lymph node metastasis. Tumor size is an influence but not independent factor for the prediction of long-term survival in patients with node-positive gastric cancer. Conclusions: In patients with node-positive gastric cancer, two independent prognostic factors were depth on invasion and the status of lymph node metastasis.     

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and its correlation with inducible nitric oxide synthase in gastric cancer

AIM:To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of VEGF165mRNA and the correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) protein and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNO) in human gastric cancer.METHODS:We tested VEGF165mRNA expression in 31 cases of resected gastric cancer specimens and normal paired gastric mucosae by RT-PCR.Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol reagents,transcribed into cDNA with gligo (dT15) priming,inner controlled with β-actin expression and agarose gel isolated after PCR.VEGF expression was quantitated with IS1000 imaging system.Meanwhile we also examined expression levels of VEGF protein and iNOS in 85 cases of gastric cancer.All paraffin-embedded samples were immunohistochimically stained by streptavidin-peroxidase method (SP).RESULTS:The mean expression of VEGF165mRNA in gastric cancer was 1.125&#177;0.356,significantly higher than that of normal paired mucosea,which was 0.760&#177;0.278.The data indicated that the expression level of VEGF165mRNA was well related to lymph node metastasis and TNM stages of UICC.The expression levels in patients with lymph node metastasis and without lhmph node metastasis were 1.219&#177;0.377 and 0.927&#177;0.205 respectively (p&lt;0.05),The expression in stages Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ was 0.934&#177;0.194,1.262&#177;0.386 respectively (p&lt;0.01).Further analysis showed the lymph node metastasis rate in the group with over-expression of VEGF was higher than that in the group with low expression of VEGF(83.3% vs 46.2%),and the ratio of stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ in the group with over-expression of VEGF was also higher than that in the group with low expression with VEGF (77.8% vs 33.8%)(p&lt;0.05).The positive rates of expression of VEGF protein and iNOS in 85 cases of gastric cancer were 75.4% and 58.8% respectively,and 50.1% of the patients showed positive staining both for iNOS and VEGF,the correlation with the two tactors was significant (p=0.018).But more intensive analysis showed the immunoreactive grades of VEGF were not associated with that of iNOS.CONCLUSIONS:The expression of VEGF165mRNA is well related with lymph node metastasis and TNM stages of UICC in gastric cancer of gastric cancer.The relationship can be observed between the expression of VEGF and iNOS in gastric cancer.     

LKB1和血管内皮生长因子在胃癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的探讨LKB1和血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)在胃癌中的表达及临床意义。方法采用免疫组织化学(SP)法检测115例胃癌组织和20例胃正常组织中LKB1和VEGF的表达,并探讨其与胃癌分期、淋巴结转移、Lauren's分型及预后的关系。结果 LKB1在胃癌组织中的阳性率为20.9%,低于正常胃组织中的95.0%(P0.01);VEGF在胃癌组织中的阳性率为64.3%,高于正常胃组织中的5.0%(P0.01)。LKB1在胃癌组织中的低表达与胃癌的TNM分期、淋巴结转移、Lauren's分型及预后有关(P0.05);VEGF在胃癌中的表达与淋巴结转移、远处转移、TNM分期及预后相关(P0.05)。结论 LKB1的低表达与胃癌的发生、发展有关,对胃癌恶性生物学行为的评估及预后判断具有重要的指导意义。     

Gastric carcinoma confined to the Muscularis propria: how can we detect, evaluate, and cure intermediate-stage carcinoma of the stomach?

OBJECTIVE: The most important surgical strategy for advanced gastric cancer is its detection at the curative stage. The aim of this study was to characterize the curable intermediate-stage gastric carcinomas. METHODS: Of 1120 consecutive patients who underwent gastric resection for primary gastric cancer from 1979 through 1996, 94 patients were histologically diagnosed as having cancer confined to the muscularis propria (mp cancer), analyzed clinicopathologically, and compared with patients with early and serosal cancers. RESULTS: The operative incidence of mp cancer was around 8% among cases of gastrectomy, and the ratio of mp cancer to advanced cancer began to increase in 1991. Mp cancer was at a statistically intermediate stage, between early and serosal cancers in terms of symptoms, surgical curability (96%), size and histology of the tumor, and the rate of lymph node metastasis (46%). Preoperative assessments of tumor depth were unclear using radiology and endoscopy; however, 35% of 31 cases studied were diagnosed precisely by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Accuracy of lymph node metastasis diagnosis was the same (65%) by preoperative EUS and by surgeon; however, sensitivity of the surgeon's assessment was higher (69% vs 38%) and specificity of EUS was higher (83% vs 39%). The 5-yr survival rate was 85%, which was significantly better than that of serosal cancer and similar to that of early cancer. Patient outcome was not affected by lymph node metastasis or macroscopic type of tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Mp cancer should be considered an intermediate-stage cancer. Surgery with level 2 lymph node dissection should provide a cure rate similar to that for early cancer.     

早期胃癌淋巴结转移规律及其影响因素分析

目的 探讨早期胃癌淋巴结转移规律及其影响因素,为选择合适的治疗方法提供依据.方法 对北京大学第三医院1988年3月-2009年3月于外科行胃癌根治术治疗的103例早期胃癌患者临床资料进行回顾性研究,对患者的年龄、性别,肿瘤的大小、部位、大体类型、分化程度及浸润深度与淋巴结转移的关系进行单因素及多因素分析.结果 早期胃癌的淋巴结转移率为17.5%(18/103),其中黏膜内癌的淋巴结转移率为4.1%(2/49),黏膜下层癌的淋巴结转移率为29.6%(16/54).logistic回归分析显示,浸润至黏膜下层(P=0.001)及肿瘤>2 cm(P=0.003)为早期胃癌淋巴结转移的独立危险因子.黏膜内癌发生淋巴结转移的2例均为直径>2 cm的印戒细胞癌;黏膜下层癌中,≤2 cm肿瘤的淋巴结转移率为16.1%(5/31),>2 cm肿瘤的淋巴结转移率高达47.8%(11/23)(P=0.012).高分化程度的早期胃癌的淋巴结转移率为0(0/13),中分化癌转移率为18.2%(4/22),低分化癌转移率为16.7%(5/30),印戒细胞癌转移率为23.7%(9/38),各组间差异无统计学意义(P=0.294).患者的年龄、性别、肿瘤部位(胃上部、中部、下部)和大体分型(隆起型、平坦型和凹陷型)与淋巴结转移无相关性.结论 肿瘤大小和浸润深度与早期胃癌淋巴结转移相关,决定早期胃癌治疗方案时,可参考上述因素判断淋巴结转移风险.     

ATDC在胃癌中的表达及其与幽门螺杆菌感染的关系

背景：ATDC又名TRIM29,属于TRIM蛋白家族,具有促进细胞增殖和抑制电离辐射敏感性的功能。研究显示其在某些恶性肿瘤中呈高表达,可作为胃癌淋巴结转移的标记,并参与了胰腺癌的生长和转移。目的：明确ATDC在胃癌中的作用,并初步探讨ATDC与幽门螺杆菌（H.pylori）相关胃癌的关系。方法：应用免疫组化方法检测72例胃癌患者癌组织和相应癌旁组织中的ATDC表达,分析其在胃癌组织中的表达与胃癌临床病理特征和患者H.pylori感染状态的关系。结果：胃癌组织ATDC阳性表达率显著高于相应癌旁组织（76.4%对2.8%,P〈0.05）。中低分化、伴淋巴结转移或远处转移、伴H.pylori感染的胃癌患者,胃癌组织ATDC阳性表达率和表达强度分别显著高于高分化、不伴转移、不伴H.pylori感染的胃癌患者（P〈0.05）,ATDC表达与胃癌患者的性别无关。结论：胃癌组织中的ATDC表达与胃癌组织学分级、转移和患者的H.pylori感染状态相关,提示其可能参与了胃癌的发生、发展,并可能与H.pylori相关胃癌有一定联系。     

PTEN encoding product： a marker for tumorigenesis and progression of gastric carcinoma

AIM: To detect the expression of PTEN encoding productin normal mucosa, intestinal metaplasia (IM), dysplasia andcarcinoma of the stomach, and to investigate its clinicalimplication in tumorigenesis and progression of gastriccarcinoma.METHODS: Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded specimens from184 cases of gastric carcinoma, their adjacent normal mucosa,IM and dysplasia were evaluated for PTEN protein expressionby SABC immunohistochemistry. PTEN expression wascompared with tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, Lauren'sand WHO's histological classification of gastric carcinoma.Expression of VEGF was also detected in 60 cases of gastriccarcinoma and its correlation with PTEN was concerned.RESULTS: The positive rates of PTEN protein were 100 %(102/102), 98.5 %(65/66), 66.7 % (4/6) and 47.8 %(88/184)in normal mucosa, IM, dysplasia and carcinoma of the stomach,respectively. The positive rates in dysplasia and carcinomawere lower than in normal mucosa and IM (P＜0.01).Advanced gastric cancers expressed less frequent PTEN thanearly gastric cancer (42.9 % v567.6 %, P＜0.01). The positiverate of PTEN protein was lower in gastric cancer with thanwithout lymph node metastasis (40.3 % v563.3 %, P＜0.01).PTEN was less expressed in diffuse-type than in intestinal-type gastric cancer (41.5 % v557.8 %,P＜0.05). Signet ringcell carcinoma showed the expression of PTEN at the lowestlevel (25.0 %, 7/28); less than well and moderatelydifferentiated ones (P＜0.01). Expression of PTEN was notcorrelated with expression of VEGF (P＞0.05).CONCLUSION: Loss or reduced expression of PTEN proteinoccures commonly in tumorigenesis and progression of gastriccarcinoma. It is suggested that PTEN can be an objective markerfor pathologically biological behaviors of gastric carcinoma.