[Surgical treatment of Borrmann type 4 (diffuse) gastric cancer]

A total of 435 cases with stage II-IV gastric cancer resected in our department was investigated. Cases with Borrmann 4-type cancer showed the poorest prognosis in all stages compared with other types of cancer. None of three drugs-PS-K, FT-207 and Levamisole-was specifically effective on Borrmann 4-type cancer in two randomized controlled trials. A study of in-vitro lymphocyte responsiveness to mitogens suggested the presence of a suppressive factor in the serum of the patient with poorly differentiated cancer. An immunofluorescent study using monoclonal antibodies against large and small intestinal mucin antigens showed strong positivity in poorly differentiated cancers.