Abstract
A 70 year-old male was hospitalized for a detailed examination of hepatomegaly and a high blood AFP level. The upper GI series and gastric endoscopy revealed a Borrmann Type 3 gastric carcinoma with a histological picture of a moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. A CT-scan revealed multiple inhomogeneous low density masses in both hepatic lobes, leading to a diagnosis of gastric carcinoma with liver metastasis. The APP pattern was analyzed using double affinity electrophoresis with Con-A LcH, and revealed a metastatic pattern instead of a hepatocellular carcinoma pattern. The localization of APP was evaluated using a PAP method on autopsy specimens, and the staining pattern indicated activity within the carcinoma cells in the lesion and each metastatic lesion, but no normal tissue. Measurement of the APP content in the tissue revealed significantly higher values in the tumor tissue than in normal tissue. APP appeared to be derived from the gastric cancinoma cells in the primary tumor and its metastasis.
