Related Experiment Videos
Laminin distribution patterns are closely related to liver metastasis in gastric cancer
H Orita1, D Korenaga, Y Maehara
1Second Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Background:
Laminin is the major glycoprotein of basement membrane and is known to have an important role in the metastatic process.
Methods:
The authors used immunohistochemical techniques to evaluate the distribution of laminin-containing basement membrane in specimens from 157 patients with advanced gastric cancer.
Results:
This membrane was found less frequently in the deep periphery than in the mucosa. According to our classification of distribution patterns, 39 (24.8%) tumors had laminin in the mucosa and the deep periphery of tumor (Group A); 37 (23.6%) tumors had laminin in the mucosa but not in the periphery (Group B); and in 81 (51.6%) tumors laminin was not found in the mucosa or the periphery (Group C). Tumors with laminin in the deep periphery (Group A) were characterized by expansive growth (P < 0.05), and there was a significant correlation with the occurrence of vessel invasion (P < 0.05) and liver metastasis (P < 0.01). Patients with Group A tumors had poor prognosis compared with patients with Group C tumors (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed laminin distribution patterns to be an independent value for predicting liver metastasis, as are lymph node involvement and expansive growth.
Conclusion:
The authors propose that laminin-positive basement membrane in the deep periphery in gastric cancer tissue is a significant risk factor for liver metastasis. For such high-risk patients, close follow up and postoperative adjuvant therapy are required.