Objective: To investigate the characteristics and significance of gastrin receptor (GR) expression in gastric cancer. Methods: The content and affinity of GR were determined in 34 specimens of gastric cancer using radioligand binding assay. The correlation was analyzed between GR expression in tumors and tumor sites, stages, grades, DNA of gastric cancer cells, GR of adjacent normal gastric mucosa, survival time. Results: Among the 34 cases of gastric cancer, 16 patients (47.1%) had positive GR in specimens of gastric cancer, with high-affinity GR in 14 cases (41.2%) and low-affinity GR in 2 cases. Of high-affinity GR, 9 cases had cancers with GR>10 fmol/mg.protein (39.5±14.4 fmol/mg.protein), 5 cases with GR≤10fmol/mg.protein (6.0±2.8 fmol/mg.protein). High-affinity GR was easier to be expressed in cancers ofgastric body (7/9) and cardia (3/6) than in gastric antrum (4/19). The expression of GR in gastric cancer accorded well with that in normal gastric mucosa at the same sites, but with more high-special binding sites than the latter (39.5±14.4 vs 26.1±16.6 fmol/mg.protein). A significantly greater proportion of patients withⅢ+Ⅳ stages (13/24) had high-affinity GR compared with I+II stages (1/10) of gastric cancers. During a follow-up of 23-61 months, 11 of 13 cases with high-affinity GR were dead, whereas 4 of 11 cases with low-affinity or negative GR were dead in Ⅲ+Ⅳ stages of gastric cancer. Conclusion: GR is an important factor in the autocrine growth of gastric cancer cells, and helpful in the prediction of prognosis and guidance of treatment with GR antagonists.
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