Comparative Studies on Lymphocyte Subsets of Regional Lymph Nodes in Patients with Early and Advanced Gastric Cancer

Wataru Adachi, Naoto Horigome, Akira Sugenoya, Manabu Nakamura, Hideo Miyamoto, Katsuhiko Ishizaka, Futoshi Iida

Department of Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine

Lymphocyte subsets of regional lymph nodes in gastric cancer patients were analyzed by single- or two-color flow cytometry to evaluate their antitumor immunity. Regional nodes obtained from 14 patients with early cancer and 15 with advanced cancer were used for this study, and perigastric nodes obtained from 8 patients with cholelithiasis were used as the control. Regarding N₁ nodes (perigastric), no statistical differences in lymphocyte subsets were revealed between early cancer and the control, but in advanced cancer the rate of Leu-3 a⁺ Leu-8^- cells was significantly decreased compared with the control. In early cancer, Leu-2 a⁺ cells showed a significantly higher rate in N₂ nodes (located along the common hepatic artery) compared with N₁ nodes, and most of the Leu-2 a⁺ cells consisted of Leu-15^- cells. In advanced cancer, no evidence to indicate a difference in antitumor immunity between N₁ and N₂ nodes was found. These data suggest that antitumor immunity of regional lymph nodes in gastric cancer patients is not enhanced but is suppressed in advanced cancer. In early cancer, however, antitumor immunity is retained in N₂ nodes.

Key words
lymphocyte subset, gastric cancer, regional lymph node of the stomach, antitumor immunity, flow cytometry

Reprint requests
Wataru Adachi Department of Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine
3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, 390 JAPAN

Accepted
October 11, 1989

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