[Monoclonal antibody NCC-ST-439 in gastric cancer tissue]

An immunohistochemical study revealed that NCC-ST-439 positive tumor were detected in 33% of the 244 gastric carcinomas. The incidence of NCC-ST-439 immunoactivity in well differentiated adenocarcinomas (papillary and tubular adenocarcinoma) was significantly higher than in poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (including signet-ring cell and mucinous adenocarcinoma). Moreover, NCC-ST-439 immunoreactive tumors showed more frequent vessel invasion and higher DNA content than non-reactive tumors. The recurrence rates of NCC-ST-439 immunoreactive tumors in the liver and lymph nodes were significantly higher than those of non-reactive tumors. Patients with NCC-ST-439 immunoreactive carcinoma had much worse prognosis than those with NCC-ST-439 non-reactive carcinoma. These results suggest that NCC-ST-439 antigen produced by tumor cells plays an important role in the invasive growth and vessel invasion and also serves as a biological marker of malignancy in patients with gastric cancer.