Significance of contracted cholecystitis lesions as high risk for gallbladder carcinogenesis.
A precancerous change has been identified incidentally in resected specimens from patients who have undergone cholecystectomy. We focused on chronic cholecystitis, showing a thick and sclerotic wall caused by recurrent inflammation, e.g. contracted cholecystitis, and examined the malignant potential of these lesions. We studied 88 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy. Contracted cholecystitis was diagnosed, using our criteria, in 28 of these cases. Ordinary chronic cholecystitis was diagnosed in 50 cases and gallbladder carcinoma in ten cases. We examined the expression of p53, Ki-67, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) immunohistochemically. Severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ in a very small portion of the specimen was identified with hematoxylin-eosin staining in four cases (14.3%) of contracted cholecystitis. These specimens revealed a positive expression of not only p53, but also Ki-67, iNOS, and COX-2. Statistical significance was shown among the three disease groups in terms of the incidence of p53 overexpression, respectively (P<0.05). The results of this study suggest that contracted cholecystitis could be an early change leading to carcinogenesis.
Kanoh
K
K
Department of Surgery I, Gunma University School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, 377-8511 Japan. kenkanoh@showa.gunma-u.ac.jp
Shimura
T
T
Tsutsumi
S
S
Suzuki
H
H
Kashiwabara
K
K
Nakajima
T
T
Kuwano
H
H
D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D005260:Female; D005706:Gallbladder Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis
D007527:Isoenzymes; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; C496319:NOS2 protein, human; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases