Study on the mechanism of re-expression of α-catenin in lymph nodes of metastatic advanced gastric cancer

Objective To investigate the significance of re-expression of α-catenin in lymph nodes of advanced gastric cancer metastases.Methods The expression of α-catenin was detected in 30 patients with gastric cancer by immunohistochemistry and protein imprinting.Results The expression of α-catenin in primary focus of 30 patients was decreased(100%),while which was positive(50%) in metastatic advanced gastric cancer,in which the positive rate in well-differentiated adenocarcinoma was 71.42%(10/14),which was 31.25%(5/16) in poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.Compared with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma,the well-differentiated adenocarcinoma was apt to positive of α-catenin expression,there was a significant difference bewteen the two different differentiated adenocarcinoma(P0.05).The positive expression of α-catenin was found both in primary tumor tissue and corresponding metastatic lymph nodes.The relative intensity of protein in primary carcinoma was 11～170(mean 105±42),which in lymph nodes of metastatic cancer was 8～112(40±28),the relative intensity of expression of α-catenin in primary carcinoma was higher than that of metastatic lymph node.The relative intensity of expression of α-cateninIn in well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of metastatic lymph nodes was 25～112(mean 54±33),which was 8～55(mean 27±12) in poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.There was a significant difference in relative intensity of expression of α-catenin between the two different differentiated adenocarcinoma.Conclusion The re-expression of α-catenin exists in lymph nodes of metastatic advanced gastric cancer,and the re-expresion levels are related with the extent of tumor differentiation,furthermore,which plays an important role in gathering and growth of cancer cells in metastatic focus.