No abstract available.
Edema* ; Hydrops Fetalis*

PURPOSE: There are increasing evidences that angiogenesis enhances tumor growth and biological aggressiveness in gastric carcinoma. Mast cells have been implicated in the angiogenic process, by secreting angiogenic factors including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or enzymes that degrade extracellular matrices. However, the exact nature of mast cells in relation to cancer is contradictory so we conducted retrospective studies, to find the significance of mast cell densities, and microvessel counts in each clinicopathologic factors, including VEGF expression, in proper muscle (PM) gastric carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 52 specimens, obtained from patients with PM gastric carcinoma, were studied using the immunohistochemical methods, monoclonal antibodies for mast cell tryptase, factor VIII-related antigen and VEGF. RESULTS: Mast cell densities were significantly increased in diffuse histologic type (p=0.042), infiltrating margins (p<0.0001) and VEGF positive (p=0.010) tumors.Microvessel counts were significantly higher in patients over 55 years old (p=0.024), with tumor sizes larger than >3 cm (p=0.015), diffuse histologic type (p=0.038) and lymph node metastasis (p=0.001). Similarly there were significantly increased densities in VEGF positive tumors (p<0.0001). Pearson's correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between mast cell densities and microvessel counts (r=0.614, p<0.01), indicating a high vascular grade with increased number of mast cells. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a close relationship between mast cell densities, microvessel counts and VEGF expression. These results suggest that mast cells and VEGF are important regulators of tumor angiogenesis and cooperatively induce the formation of vascular stroma in PM gastric carcinomas.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mast Cells* ; Microvessels ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Tryptases ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A* ; von Willebrand Factor

p27Kip1 has been recognized as a negative regulator of cell cycle. Reduced level of p27 expression is associated with development and aggressiveness of several human tumors. To investigate the role of p27Kip1 on progression of colorectal adenocarcinoma, we studied 40 cases of human colorectal adenocarcinomas for expression of p27Kip1 protein using an immunohistochemical method, and compared these results with known prognostic parameters of colorectal adenocarcinoma. Among 40 cases of colorectal adenocarcinomas, p27Kip1 expression was detected in the nuclei of tumor cells in 14 cases (35%). The expression rate of p27Kip1 protein was significantly lower in the cases with lymph node metastasis (25.8%) than in those without lymph node metastasis (66.6%) (p<0.05). But it did not correlate with other parameters such as tumor size, histologic grade, vascular invasion, and Ki-67 labeling index. The results suggest that reduced expression of p27Kip1 protein plays a role in biologically aggressive behavior of colorectal adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Cell Cycle ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis