Correlation between mast cells and survival rates in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma

Background: A retrospective study on the correlation between mast cells and survival rates of 90 pulmonary adenocarcinoma patients is reported. Methods: Surgical specimens were stained with alcian blue and safranin O, and parenchymal mast cells were counted. Based on the counts, the patients were divided into two groups: Group A had mast cell counts of > 20/microscopic field; Group B, < 20. TNM staging and histological findings were recorded for both groups. Phenotypes of mast cells were determined using enzymehistochemistry. Total count numbers, the histological differentiation of adenocarcinomas, and phenotypes were evaluated with regard to patient survival rates. Results: Group A had a 5-year survival rate of 45.85% as compared with Group B's rate of 16.32% (P < 0.01). Group A also represented a higher percentage of well-differentiated adenocarcinomas. In both cancerous tissue and normal lung tissue, the predominant mast cell phenotype was MCT. Conclusions: There appears to be a direct relationship between the number of mast cells and clinical outcome in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma, even though the mast cells exhibited no significant phenotypic changes. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.