title: Detection of Epstein-Barr virus by PCR and expression of LMP1, p53, CD44 in gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with various lymphoproliferative disorders and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Recently, some gastric cancer cells were observed to contain the EBV sequence. We detected EBV in gastric cancer by using PCR to determine the frequency of EBV-associated gastric cancer, and performed immunohistochemical staining for the latent membrane protein (LMP1), p53 and CD44 to investigate the possible mechanism in EBV-associated gastric cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-seven formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded blocks (40 gastric adenocarcinomas, 34 adjacent normal tissues, 13 metastatic lymph nodes) from 40 surgically resected gastric specimens were studied. All patients were diagnosed with gastric cancer at the Kang-Nam St. Mary's Hospital between April 1995 and April 1997. After DNA was extracted from each paraffin block, we performed PCR and immunohistochemical staining for the LMP1, p53 and CD44.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EBV was detected in 4 of 40 cases (10%). In 1 of 4 EBV-positive cases, EBV was also detected in a metastatic lymph node. The immunohistochemical staining for the LMP1, p53 and CD44 were negative in all the EBV-positive cancer patients. Of the patients having these cancers, 2 had a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with a lymphoepithelioma-like morphology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The frequency of EBV-associated gastric cancer is about 10% in Korea. Considering the negative result of the immunohistochemical staining for the LMP1, p53 and CD44, EBV-associated gastric cancer seems to have a different mechanism of tumorigenesis from ordinary gastric cancer or other EBV-associated cancers. This specific mechanism must be determined by further large scale studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung Ah
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Young Seon
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Jin Hyoung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kyung Shik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Kyo Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Cho Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins