Mucopolysaccharides in gastric cancer.

ABSTRACT

The histochemical properties of mucus in 48 diffuse type gastric carcinomas and in 46 intestinal type gastric cancers were investigated. In the diffuse type there was a prevalence of intracellular secretion of mucopolysaccharides with a significantly larger portion of sulfated mucopolysaccharides. Acid mucopolysaccharides occurred in the tumor cells only along with neutral ones. In the intestinal type of this cancer, in turn, extracellular secretion prevailed, along with the occurrence of purely acid mucopolysaccharides and a smaller portion of sulfated ones. The secretion of pure neutral mucopolysaccharides in both types of gastric cancer was very low. In the marginal areas of intestinal type carcinomas, incomplete intestinal type IIb metaplasia was frequently found.