The Basement Membrane of Colonic and Gastric Carcinoma and Liver Metastasis

Ryuichi Kubo, Masanori Kitaoka, Yoshitaka Akabane, Norikazu Machidera, Jinichi Hida, Akira Tanaka, Katsuhisa Shindo, Masayuki Yasutomi

First Department of Surgery, Kinki University School of Medicine

Colonic and gastric carcinomas were studied by immunohistochemical staining of laminin (LN), a structural component of the basement membrane. High rates of liver metastasis and recurrence of liver metastasis were found in cases in which LN activity was noted in the basement membrane of cancer tissue. In addition, sites which stained positive for type IV collagen (CIV), likewise a component of basement membrane, showed good correspondence to the pattern obtained for LN, indicating that LN-positive sites corresponded to basement membrane. Prospective studies on the recurrence of liver metastasis associated with colonic cancer, performed by LN staining since 1987, indicated that the recurrence of liver metastasis was able to be predicted in a high proportion of cases. Cell culture studies were additionally performed to investigate why carcinomas with LN-positive basement membrane have a high rate of liver metastasis. In culture, some carcinomas formed basement membrane whereas other did not, but all cells elaborated LN and CIV. The foregoing results demonstrated that some carcinomas of the colon and stomach form basement membrane while others do not. Basement membraneproducing cancers (BMPC) were found to be associated with a high rate of liver metastasis.

Key words
basement membrane producing cancer, liver metastasis of colonic and gastric cancer, laminin

Reprint requests
Ryuichi Kubo First Department of Surgery, Kinki University School of Medicine
377-2 Ohnohigashi, Ohsaka-sayamashi, 589 JAPAN

Accepted
June 14, 1993

To read the PDF file you will need Abobe Reader installed on your computer.