title: Quantitative analysis of mast cells in benign and malignant colonic lesions: immunohistochemical study on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Comparison of the number of mast cells in the active stage and that in remission in the same patients with ulcerative colitis with immunohistochemical staining remains to be elucidated, and analysis of the number of mast cells in benign and malignant colonic lesions is insufficient.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using immunohistochemical methods, morphological examinations of mast cells were undertaken in colonic tissues from 8 patients with ulcerative colitis and 10 patients with colonic primary cancer, which were formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded. Changes in the number of mast cells in the active stage and in remission in the same patients with ulcerative colitis were investigated. Then, the number of mast cells in malignant tissues and adjacent healthy tissues obtained from the same patients with colonic primary cancer were compared, and finally the number of mast cells was compared among the samples from benign and malignant colonic lesions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Accumulation of mast cells was found to be significant in the active stage of ulcerative colitis compared with remission in the same patients. The number of mast cells in colonic primary cancer was significantly increased compared with that in adjacent healthy tissues. The number of mast cells in ulcerative colitis was significantly greater than that in adjacent healthy tissues from patients with colonic primary cancer, irrespective of the stages of ulcerative colitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We were the first to analyse mast cells in the active stage and in remission in the same patients with ulcerative colitis using immunohisto-chemical methods, and compared the number of mast cells between benign and malignant colonic lesions.
authors.affiliation: Gunma Institute for Allergy and Asthma. Shin-Ohra Hospital. Ohra-machi. Gunma. Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kashiwase
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inamura
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morioka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawai-Kowase
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D003106:Colon / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged