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Detection of peritoneal micrometastasis by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction for heparanase mRNA and cytology in peritoneal wash samples
Author(s) -
Wang Zhenning,
Zhang Xue,
Xu Huimian,
Zhou Xin,
Jiang Li,
Lu Chong
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.20250
Subject(s) - heparanase , micrometastasis , medicine , metastasis , pathology , peritoneal fluid , peritoneal cavity , cancer , polymerase chain reaction , cancer cell , cytology , gene , surgery , biology , biochemistry
Backgroud Peritoneal dissemination is the most common pattern of metastasis in advanced gastric carcinoma with serosal invasion. In the present study, we have reported the clinical relevance of a new diagnostic method with reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) assay using heparanase as a target gene for detection of free cancer cells in peritoneal washes. Methods Intraoperative peritoneal washes were obtained from 48 patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer. RT‐PCR analysis with primers specific for heparanase and conventional cytological examination were performed subsequently. Results Heparanase RT‐PCR was capable of detecting at least 10 tumor cells in 10 ml peritoneal wash fluid. There was no detectable heparanase expression in normal gastric epithelial cells and peritoneal wash samples from patients with benign disease. Twenty‐five (52%) patients with gastric cancer had a detectable heparanase expression. Its positive rate was 100% and 59% for the cases with clinically evident peritoneal metastasis and serosal invasion, respectively, both of which are higher than that of cytology. Conclusions Heparanase mRNA detected in peritoneal lavaged fluid might indicate the presence of free cancer cells in peritoneal cavity. The high sensitivity of RT‐PCR based heparanase assay made it a candidate molecular marker for detecting peritoneal micrometastasis. J. Surg. Oncol. 2005;90:59–65. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.