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.
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