A Study of Nuclear DNA Histograms in Gastric Cancer with Liver Metastasis

Yuji Yamamoto, Tomishige Amano, Toshio Imada, Makaoto Akaike, Satoshi Tamura, Yoshikazu Noguchi, Norio Aoyama, Masao Abe, Akira Tsuburaya, Yasushi Rino, Akihiko Matsumoto

First Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University School of Medicine

Nuclear DNA histograms of 21 gastric cancers with synchronous or metachronous liver metastasis were analyzed to investigate the characteristics of gastric cancer with liver metastasis. All of the gastric cnacers with synchronous liver metastasis were aneuploid and 75% of those with metachronous liver metastasis were also aneuploid. The mean heterogeneity index score (HIS) of the cancers was 78.62±36.21, a higher value than that of normal tissue (p<0.01). The mean HIS of cancers with vascular invasion was higher than that of those without vascular invasion (p<0.01), but there was no correlation between a high HIS and liver metastasis. Microscopic examination revealed that the incidence of the medullary or intermediate type of carcinoma was more frequent in patients with liver metastasis. It is suggested that high HIS gastric cancer can be a risk factor of liver metastasis because of its high incidence of vascular invasion, and that the amount of interstitial connective tissue can be also connected with liver metastasis.

Key words
liver metastasis of the gastric cancer, DNA ploidy pattern of the gastric cancer, heterogeneity index score of the gastric cancer

Reprint requests
Yuji Yamamoto First Department of Surgery, Yokohama City University School of Medicine
3-46 Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama, 232 JAPAN

Accepted
January 10, 1990

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