[Cathepsin D activity in gastric cancer]

The levels of activity of cathepsin D were compared in neoplastic and normal gastric mucosa in 42 patients, aged 39-78, at different stages of the disease. A relationship was established between cathepsin D activity and main clinico-morphological characteristics of stomach tumor: cathepsin D activity was found to increase with decreasing differentiation and increasing depth of invasion and metastatic spreading of tumor tissue. Possible involvement of proteolytic enzymes and, in particular, an aspartyl proteinase--cathepsin D--in the mechanisms of invasion and metastatic spreading of neoplasms is discussed.