PROGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF CURATIVELY RESECTED LOCALLY ADVANCED GASTRIC-CANCER PATIENTS WITH PREOPERATIVE DOWNSTAGING CHEMOTHERAPY ASSESSED BY HISTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL MEANS

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the rate of th ymidylate synthetase inhibition (TSIR) and the rate of proliferating c ell nuclear antigen expression (PCNA-R) in gastric cancer tissues, whi ch can be obtained within a short period after surgery, were predictiv e and quantitative prognostic factors for locally advanced gastric can cer patients with preoperative down-staging chemotherapy. Curatively r esected 30 locally advanced gastric cancer patients with preoperative chemotherapies were studied. Three-year survival analysis showed that the higher TSIR and the lower PCNA-R significantly predicted better pr ognosis (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Multiple regression tes t showed that the TSIR was a significantly predictive variable for 1-y ear survival (p < 0.05). The TSIR and PCNA-R could be predictive and q uantitative prognostic factors in advanced gastric cancer patients who received preoperative downstaging chemotherapy.