title: Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor is expressed in invasive cells in gastric carcinomas from high- and low-risk countries.
abstract: Gastric cancer is the second cancer causing death worldwide. Both incidence and mortality rates vary according to geographical regions. The receptor for urokinase plasminogen activator (uPAR) is involved in extracellular matrix degradation by mediating cell surface associated plasminogen activation, and its presence on gastric cancer cells is linked to micro-metastasis and poor prognosis. Immunohistochemical analyses of a set of 44 gastric cancer lesions from Costa Rica showed expression of uPAR in cancer cells in both intestinal subtype (14 of 27) and diffuse subtype (10 of 17). We compared the expression pattern of uPAR in gastric cancers from a high-risk country (Costa Rica) with a low-risk country (Norway). We found uPAR on gastric cancer cells in 24 of 44 cases (54%) from Costa Rica and in 13 of 23 cases (56%) from Norway. uPAR was seen in macrophages and neutrophils in all cases. We also examined the nonneoplastic mucosa and found that uPAR was more frequently seen in epithelial cells located at the luminal edge of the crypts in cases with Helicobacter pylori infection than in similar epithelial cells in noninfected mucosa (p = 0.033; chi(2) = 4.54). In conclusion, the expression of uPAR in cancer cells in more than half of the gastric cancer cases suggests that their uPAR-positivity do not contribute to explain the different mortality rates between the 2 countries, however, the actual prevalence of uPAR-positive cancer cells in the gastric cancers may still provide prognostic information.
authors.affiliation: The Gade Institute, University of Bergen and Department of Pathology, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. awarnercr@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Warner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alpízar-Alpízar
authors.forename: Boye Schnack
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Rafaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Illemann
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.forename: Sundry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Durán
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skarstein
authors.forename: Kjell
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ovrebo
authors.forename: Leif R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: Ole D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Laerum
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D003364:Costa Rica; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009664:Norway; D011379:Prognosis; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D055293:Receptors, Urokinase Plasminogen Activator