Expression of adenomatous polyposis coli protein in gastric adenoma and gastric adenocarcinoma and its significance

Objective: To investigate the role of adenomatous polyposis coli(APC) protein in the carcinogenesis and progression of gastric cancer by observing its expression in normal gastric mucosa,gastric adenoma and gastric adenocarcinoma tissues.Methods: Seventy-eight gastric epithelial biopsy specimens were obtained,24 from normal gastric mucosa,24 from gastric adenomatous polyp(14 high-grade and 10 low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia) and 30 from gastric adenocarcinoma.The expression of APC was detected by immunohistochemical avidin-biotin complex(ABC) method.Results: The positive expression of APC was decreased successively from the normal control to the gastric adenomatous polyp and the gastric adenocarcinoma group,with statistically significant differences(P0.05).The high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia showed a lower positive expression of APC than the low-grade,but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.697).Conclusion: The expression of the APC gene has become abnormal in gastric adenoma,and its inactivation might play an important role in carcinogenesis and progression of gastric cancer.