Objective: To study the expression of Galectin-3 in gastric cancerous tissues and the relationship between Galectin-3 expression and biological behave of gastric carcinoma. Methods: S-P immunohistochemistry method was used to examine Galectin-3 expression in 64 primary gastric cancerous tissues and 10 normal gastric mucosa as control. The expression of Galectin-3 was examined by HPIAS- 2000 image analysis software. Results: Positive Gaiectin-3 expression was observed in 85.9% of the gastric cancer cases. In gastric cancerous tissues, about 46% of cases showed strong nuclear immunoreactivity. The degree of enhancement of immunoreactivity was different in various histopathological subtypes in cancerous tissues. The readings of average absorbency of Galectin-3 in well, moderate and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma tissues were 0.17130.02147, 0.18730.0313 and 0.25380.1216 respectively. A stronger expression of Galectin-3 in cancerous tissues was observed. When Galectin-3 expression in gastric cancerous tissues was compared with that in normal gastric tissues, there was a significant difference (P<0.001). Conclusion: A significantly stronger expression of Galectin-3 in gastric cancerous tissues was observed. Galectin-3 might be a useful tumor marker for gastric carcinomas with respects to tumor metastasis, proliferation, cancer progression, and tumor cell adhesion.
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