Immunohistochemical analysis of c-erbB-2 and nm23 expression in early gastric carcinoma

Abstract

The expression of c-erbB-2 and nm23 genes product were investigated immunohistochemically in 108 resected cases of early gastric cancer. The expression rate of c-erbB-2 was significantly higher in the cases of submucosal cancer or in the cases with lymph node metastasis. The expression rate of c-erbB-2 was higher in the metastatic tumor than in the primary tumor. There was no significant correlation between the expression of nm23 and depth of invasion. The expression rate of nm23 was lower in the cases with lymph node metastasis than in the cases without lymph node metastasis. The expression could not be found in the metastatic tumor. These results suggest that there would be correlation between the expression of c-erbB-2 and depth of invasion and lymph node metastasis, and the nm23 may suppress metastatic potential in early gastric cancer.