The expression of thymidine phosphorylase in cancer-infiltrating inflammatory cells in stomach cancer.
Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) has shown to be up-regulated in several cancers and to play a role in angiogenesis and invasion. Most studies regarding TP have focused on cancer cells. Recently, evidences suggest that TP in cancer-infiltrating inflammatory cells (CIICs) also affect the cancer cell behavior. To evaluate the significance of TP expression of CIICs in gastric cancer, we assessed TP expression of cancer cells and CIICs separately using immunohistochemical assay on 116 paraffin-embedded tissue samples from stomach cancer patients and investigated their clinical significance. When subjects were divided into 4 groups according to the TP expression: cancer/matrix (+/+), C/M (+/-), C/M (-/+), and C/M (-/-), intratumoral microvessel density scores were higher in the C/M (+/-) group than in the C/M (-/-) group (p=0.02). For lymph node metastasis and survival, there were no significant differences among the 4 groups. However, there were significant differences in survival (p=0.035) and LN metastasis (p=0.023) between the two groups divided by TP expression of CIICs alone irrespective of TP expression of cancer cells. Taken together, this study suggested the TP expression in CIICs could affect lymph node metastasis and patients' survival in gastric cancer.
Jang
Joung Soon
JS
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeong-Sang National University College of Medicine, Jinju, Korea.
Lee
Won Sup
WS
Lee
Jong Seok
JS
Kim
Hwal Woong
HW
Ko
Gyung Hyuck
GH
Ha
Woo Song
WS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007249:Inflammation / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase / Q000378:metabolism*
D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase