title: PINCH expression and its clinicopathological significance in gastric adenocarcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Particularly interesting new cysteine-histidine rich protein (PINCH) is an important component of the local adhesion complexes and upregulated in several types of malignancies, and involved in the incidence and development of tumours. PINCH expression is also independently correlated with poorer survival in patients with colorectal cancer. However, there is no study of PINCH in gastric cancer, therefore, the aim of this project was to investigate PINCH expression and its clinicopathological significance in gastric adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  PINCH expression was immunohistochemically examined in normal gastric mucous (n=30) and gastric adenocarcinoma (n=73), from gastric cancer patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PINCH expression in the associated-stroma of gastric cancers was heterogeneous, and its positive rate (75%) was higher than that of normal gastric mucosa (43%, <formula>X^{2}</formula> =9.711, p=0.002). The stronger staining was observed at the invasive edge of tumour when compared to the inner area of tumour. The rate of positive PINCH (88%) in the cases with lymph node metastasis was higher than that (52%) in the cases without metastasis (<formula>X^{2}</formula>=11.151, p=0.001). PINCH expression was not correlated with patients' gender, age, tumour size, differentiation and invasion depth (p> 0.05). COMCLUSION: PINCH protein might play an important role in the tumourigenesis and metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Long
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Bao-Yong
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yan-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Zheng-Min
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hong-Zhen
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ming-Wei
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiang-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; C088088:LIMS1 protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins