The expression and clinical significance of β-catenin in gastric carcinoma and lymph-node metastatic tumors

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of β-catenin in gastric carcinoma and their lymph node metastatic tumors.Methods Immunohistochemical staining method was used to detect the expression of β-catenin in 28 cases of normal gastric tissue,70 cases of gastric carcinoma(48 cases with lymphatic metastasis) and their lymph node metastatic tumors.Results The study showed that β-catenin was expressed in gastric cancer tissues and lymph node metastatic tumors with positive rate of 68.6% and 56.3%,respectively,which indicated β-catenin expression was associated with tumor differentiation,invasion and lymph node metastasis(P0.05).Furthermore,the positive expression of β-catenin in metastatic gastric carcinoma was significantly correlated with primary lesions and lymph nodes metastasis(r=0.317,P0.05).Conclusion The expression of β-catenin was an index of biological behaviour of gastric carcinoma,which are important factors for judging invasion,metastasis and differentiation.