Expression of pituitary tumor transforming gene in human gastric carcinoma

AIM:Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTIG1) isoverexpressed in a variety of tumors,including carcinomasof the lung,breast,colon,as well as in leukemia,lymphomaand pituitary adenomas.However,there is little informationon its expression in gastric carcinoma.We sought toinvestigate the expression of PTTG1 in gastric carcinomaand to explore the relationship between its expression andclinicopathological factors.METHODS:We studied 75 primary human gastricadenocarcinomas,including 17 mucosal carcinomas,21submucosal infiltrative carcinomas,12 carcinomas invadingproprial muscle layers,6 carcinomas reaching the subserosa,and 19 carcinomas penetrating the serosal surface.Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using paraffin-embedded sections of gastric adenocarcinomas.RESULTS:PTTG1 was expressed heterogeneously incarcinomas. Positive PTTG1 staining was observed in65.3% of the carcinomas (49 of 75).Its expression did notcorrelate significantly with either the histological type orthe depth of infiltration of the gastric carcinomas.However,a statistical analysis showed significant differences betweenthe primary adenocarcinomas and the associated metastaticlymph nodes.CONCLUSION:The results of this study demonstrate thatPTTG1 expression is enhanced in metastatic lymph nodesin comparison to that in primary carcinomas.We suggest that PTTG1 may contribute to lymph node metastases ingastric carcinoma.