Expression of PTEN enconding product in gastric carcinoma and its significance

Objective To illustrate the significance of expression of p27 protein in carcinoma of the stomach and to evaluate its relationship with occurrence and clinicopathological features of the disease.Methods Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues from 60 cases of gastric carcinoma,17 cases of gastric dysplasia and 15 cases of normal gastric mucosa were evaluated for the expression of p27 protein by SP immunohistochemistry.Results The positive rates of p27 protein were 100%,58.82%,and 38.33% respectively in normal gastric mucosa,dysplasia,and gastric carcinoma,with the difference of p27 gene expression significant(P0.05);however,the p27 protein was less expressed in advanced gastric carcinoma than in early one(31.82% vs 56.25%,P0.05).The positive rates of p27 protein decreased with lymph node metastasis,poor differentiation,deep invasion,apparent metastasis,and clinical staging(P0.05).Conclusion The expression of p27 protein is downregulated in the process of gastric carcinoma,and p27 may be an objective marker for pathological and biological behavior of gastric carcinoma.