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γ‐Amino‐butyric acid immunoreactivity in intramucosal colonic tumors
Author(s) -
MAEMURA KENTARO,
YAMAUCHI HIROAKI,
HAYASAKI HANA,
KANBARA KIYOTO,
TAMAYAMA TAKUMI,
HIRATA ICHIRO,
WATANABE MASAHITO
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1746.2003.03131.x
Subject(s) - atypia , medicine , pathology , immunostaining , carcinoembryonic antigen , adenoma , staining , immunohistochemistry , adenocarcinoma , colorectal cancer , tubular adenoma , cancer , colonoscopy
Abstract Background and Aim: The level of γ‐amino‐butyric acid (GABA) is reported to be increased in colon cancer. Moreover, data suggests that GABA plays a role in the proliferation or maturation of some types of cells. We examined the expression of GABA in intramucosal colonic tumors to clarify the relation between GABA and the degree of atypia. Methods: Paraffin sections were prepared from 56 protruded‐type colonic neoplasms, which were classified as intramucosal adenocarcinoma (AC), adenoma with severe atypia (ASA), or adenoma with mild to moderate atypia (AMA). Expression of GABA was investigated immunohistochemically, and GABA immunoreactivity was compared to the staining patterns of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer‐associated antigen (CA19‐9) which were classified into three categories. Results: Intense GABA immunoreactivity was observed in 73.7%, 54.6%, 13.3%, and 5.4% of AC, ASA, AMA, and normal mucosa specimens, respectively. Kendall's correlation coefficient between GABA immunoreactivity and the degree of atypia was 0.447. Strong, positive CEA staining (pattern 3) was observed in 57.9%, 36.3%, and 13.3% of AC, ASA, and AMA specimens, respectively. Strong, positive CA19‐9 staining was observed: 26.3%, 9.1% and 0%, respectively. In AC and ASA, the proportion of glands with strong GABA immunoreactivity was greater than the proportion of glands that were strongly positive for CA19‐9. Conclusion: GABA may be useful as a tumor marker in combination with other tumor markers such as CEA and CA19‐9.