RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protein expression of RON, a tyrosine kinase receptor, protein in gastric carcinoma and the relationship between its expression and prognosis of cancer. METHOD: s 98 samples of gastric carcinoma obtained from 98 patients, 70 males and 28 females, aged 58 (21 -76), 29 specimens of paraneoplastic tissue, and 10 specimens of normal gastric mucosa were examined using immunohistochemical Envision method; 19 samples of gastric carcinoma fresh tissue, paraneoplastic tissue, and paraneoplastic lymph nodes with metastasis obtained from patients during operation underwent Western blotting to detect the protein expression of RON. And 10 specimens of normal gastric mucosa and normal lymph nodes were examined as controls. All cases were followed up for 3 - 89 months. RESULTS: (1) The RON positive rate of the gastric carcinoma tissue was 56.1% (55/98), significantly higher than that of the paraneoplastic tissue (25.6%, 8/29, P < 0.01). No RON expression was observed in the normal gastric mucosa. (2) RON expression was positively correlated with the invasive depth of the tumor (P < 0.05), perigastric lymph nodes metastasis (P < 0.05), and TNM stage (P < 0.01), but was not correlated with the growing manner of the tumor (Borrmann staging), histopathological grade of the tumor, and distant metastasis (all P > 0.05). (3) RON expression was not related to the survival rate (P > 0.05). (4) The splicing variant of RON was strongly expressed in the fresh gastric carcinoma tissue, corresponding paraneoplastic tissue and perigastric lymph nodes with metastatic carcinoma cell. No expression of the splicing variant of RON was observed in the normal gastric mucosa and normal lymph nodes. CONCLUSION: RON and its splice variant may play an important role in the pathogenesis, progression, and metastasis of gastric carcinoma, and represent potential markers that can be used to evaluate the biological activity of gastric carcinoma.