Abstract
Ras p21 oncoprotein (p21) was stained in 126 gastric carcinomas, 58 benign epithelial lesions of the stomach, and 113 histologically normal gastric mucosa specimens adjacent to gastric carcinoma, by immunohistochemical technique using anti-c-Ha-ras p21 monoclonal antibody (NCC-RAS-001). The aim of the study was to determine the clinical significance of the p21 in gastric carcinoma.
The rate of positive staining was significantly higher in carcinomas (79/126) than in benign lesions (17/58), indicating that the p21 plays an important role in malignant transformation of gastric mucosa. Interestingly, the rate of positive staining did not differ between carcinomas and gastric mucosa specimens adjacent to the tumors (71/113). No significant correlation was found between clinicopathological features of carcinoma and the immunoreactivity for the p21, though the positive staining was more often detected in tumors with intestinal metaplasia. The effect of the immunoreactivity for the p21 on survival of the patients was not significant. It is though that the p21 may contribute to malignant transformation of gastric carcinoma but scarcely participate in further development of the tumor.
