title: Correlation between mast cells and survival rates in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A retrospective study on the correlation between mast cells and survival rates of 90 pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients is reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surgical specimens were stained with alcian blue and safranin O, and parenchymal mast cells were counted. Based on the counts, the patients were divided into two groups: Group A had mast cell counts of > 20/microscopic field; Group B, < 20. TNM staging and histological findings were recorded for both groups. Phenotypes of mast cells were determined using enzymehistochemistry. Total count numbers, the histological differentiation of adenocarcinomas, and phenotypes were evaluated with regard to patient survival rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group A had a 5-year survival rate of 45.85%, as compared with Group B's rate of 16.32% (P < 0.01). Group A also represented a higher percentage of well-differentiated adenocarcinomas. In both cancerous tissue and normal lung tissue, the predominant mast cell phenotype was MC(T).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There appears to be a direct relationship between the number of mast cells and clinical outcome in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, even though the mast cells exhibited no significant phenotypic changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery II, Miyazaki Medical College, Kiyotake, Japan. mtomita@post.miyazaki-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Onitsuka
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002452:Cell Count; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate