Immunohistochemical study of epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta in the penetrating type of early gastric cancer.
We report that the penetrating type of early gastric cancer (PEN) is a specific type of early gastric cancer and that the poorly differentiated PEN type could be considered an initial lesion of linitis plastica-type cancer. We performed an immunohistochemical study to clarify the role of growth factors (epidermal growth factor [EGF] and transforming growth factor-beta [TGF-beta]) in the PEN type of early gastric cancer. The results indicated that the PEN type of early gastric cancer has a high growth capacity. Moreover, it was suggested that EGF was involved in its specific infiltrative growth and that both EGF and TGF-beta were involved in its specific scirrhous growth. From these findings, it was assumed that the immunohistochemical staining of EGF and TGF-beta in endoscopic biopsy specimens was useful for the diagnosis of the PEN type of gastric cancer and also for the diagnosis of the initial lesion of linitis plastica-type gastric cancer.
Hirayama
D
D
Second Department of Pathology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan.
Fujimori
T
T
Satonaka
K
K
Nakamura
T
T
Kitazawa
S
S
Horio
M
M
Maeda
S
S
Nagasako
K
K
D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000032:analysis*
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor