Apoptosis and Cell Proliferation in Gastric Adenoma and Adenocarcinoma

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Cancer is a genetic disease caused by alterations in key regulators of cell growth and cell turnover. We investigated apoptotic cell death and cell proliferation in gastric adenomas and adenocarcinomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labelling (TUNEL) method and immunohistochemistry for Ki-67 were performed, using paraffin-embedded tissues of 41 gastric adenomas and 100 gastric adenocarcinomas. These results were compared with histopathologic parameters. RESULTS: The Ki-67 labelling index was higher in adenocarcinomas than in adenomas and the apoptotic index was higher in adenomas than in adenocarcinomas. There were no significant difference between the apoptotic index/Ki-67 labelling index and clinicopathological parameters. CONCLUSION: We propose that cell proliferation is more closely associated with gastric adenocarcinomas than apoptosis is, but that neither has any clinical significance as a prognostic factor in gastric adenocarcinomas.