The Study Of Clinical Correlation With The Expression Of PTEN In Gastric Cancer

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to investigate the expression, the correlation with clinicopathologic variables and the prognostic value of PTEN and its subcellular location.Patients and Methods140patients were studied in this project. The patients all underwent RO resections with extended lymph nodes dissection (D2) from2000to2005in Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University. The expression of PTEN was assessed by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays of gastric cancer tissues and normal tissues. With immunoreactions score system, the prognostic effects of expression of PTEN as well as the correlation with clinicopathologic variables were evaluated.ResultsPTEN expression was positive in all normal gastric mucosa. PTEN expression in gastric cancer was notably decreased compared to the corresponding normal tissue. PTEN expression in both gastric cancer and normal tissue mostly located in nuclear. Decreased PTEN expression was significantly negatively correlated with tumor stage (P<0.001), tumor invasion (P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.002). Furthermore, gastric cancer patiets with decreased PTEN expression had a poor prognosis. No statistically significant correlation was found between PTEN absence and patients’clinicopathologic variables. There was no cytoplasmic staining in the samples with nuclear PTEN absence. We did not find any statistically significant correlation between cytoplasmic or nuclear PTEN expression and clinicopathologic factors. And no prognostic value of PTEN expression was found, neither in cytoplasm nor nuclear. Reduced expression of PTEN in gastric caner nuclear was correlated with tumor stage (P<0.001), tumor invasion (P<0.001), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.002). Additionally, there was statistically significant correlation between reduced nuclear PTEN expression and patients’prognoses.ConclusionsPTEN expression in gastric cancer was decreased. And the expression level of PTEN negatively correlated with tumor stage, tumor invasion, and lymph node metastasis. Gastric cancer patients with reduced PTEN expression had poor prognoses. PTEN located in cell nuclear is more significant than PTEN located in cytoplasm as a diagnostic and prognostic factor in gastric cancer.