Premium
Immunohistochemical evaluation of thymidylate synthase in gastric carcinoma using a new polyclonal antibody
Author(s) -
Kuniyasu Tetsuya,
Nakamura Takeshi,
Tabuchi Yoshiki,
Kuroda Yoshikazu
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19981001)83:7<1300::aid-cncr5>3.0.co;2-m
Subject(s) - immunohistochemistry , medicine , staining , thymidylate synthase , pathology , carcinoma , metastasis , cancer , gastroenterology , fluorouracil
BACKGROUND Before this study was conducted, the clinical and therapeutic significance of immunohistochemical evaluation of thymidylate synthase (TS) in patients with gastric carcinoma had not yet been clarified. METHODS TS was immunohistochemically evaluated in 134 gastric carcinomas using anti‐TS antibody. TS expression, 11 clinicopathologic variables, and survival were studied, and the correlations among them were investigated. RESULTS The groups with high and low TS levels consisted of 56 and 78 patients, respectively. Granular cytoplasmic staining patterns of tumor cells were produced by immunohistochemical staining of the gastric carcinoma tissues. The grade of TS staining was significantly correlated with three clinicopathologic variables: depth of invasion, peritoneal metastasis, and stage of the carcinoma ( P < 0.05). A univariate analysis revealed that the 5‐year survival was significantly better for the low TS group than for the high TS group ( P < 0.05): 65.2% for the low TS group and 43.2% for the high TS group. The group with high grade TS staining who received chemotherapy because of the advanced stage of their disease had worse prognoses even if they received adjuvant chemotherapy. A multivariate analysis revealed that four variables (peritoneal metastasis, lymphatic invasion, liver metastasis, and TS staining grade) independently contributed to survival ( P < 0.05). The hazard ratio for the group with low grade TS staining was 0.464 compared with the group with high grade staining. CONCLUSIONS The immunohistochemical evaluation of TS using this anti‐TS antibody may be clinically and therapeutically useful in determining the prognosis of gastric carcinoma patients. Cancer 1998;83:1300‐1306. © 1998 American Cancer Society.