The Clinicopathological Characteristics and Proliferative Activity of α-Fetoprotein-producing Gastric Cancer

Takao Inada, Joji Imura*, Yoshiro Ogata, Kayako Shimamura*, Jiro Ando, Iwao Ozawa, Junichi Matsui, Shoichi Hishinuma, Hideaki Shimizu, Kenjiro Kotake, Yasuo Koyama

Department of Surgery and Department of Pathology*, Tochigi Cancer Center

The clinicopathological characteristics of 10 gastric cancer cases showing elevation of α-fetoprotein (AFP) in serum and AFP-producing cancer cells determined immunohistochemically in the primary lesion were studied. The proliferative activity of these cancers was detected by the immunohistochemical method using an anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) monoclonal antibody. All the cases were of advanced gastric cancer with the gross appearance of Borrmann's type 2 or 3, and the majority of the cancers were located in the distal part of the stomach. The frequency of AFP-producing gastric cancer was 6.1% of the resected advanced gastric cancers. Histologically, the tumors were papillary, moderately differentiated and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas, and many of the cases showed medullary growth in the stroma. In clinical findings, 7 patients had hepatic metastasis at the time of the operation, and 1 patient had it after the operation. The proliferative activity of AFP-producing gastric cancer was found to be higher than that of other advanced gastric cancers by the immunohistochemical method using an anti-PCNA antibody.

Key words
alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer, proliferative activity, clinicopathological characteristics

Reprint requests
Takao Inada Department of Surgery, Tochigi Cancer Center
4-9-13 Yohnan, Utsunomiya, 320 JAPAN

Accepted
November 11, 1992

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