GASTRIC-CANCER - CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CHAR ACTERISTICS AND EXPRESSION OF C-ERBB-2 IN 122 CASES

A series of 119 patients with 122 gastric carcinomas treated by gastre ctomy, with a follow up of more than 5 years is presented. There were 80 (67.2%) men and 39 (32.8%) women with a mean age of 66.4 years. In 101 (84.9%) the diagnosis of cancer was endoscopic. Pain was the most frequent sympton (55.5%). Seventy two (59%) were localized in the antr um; 26 (21%) were cardial, and 24 (19.7%) were in the body. In 43.4% t he size was smaller than 5 cm and in 56.6% it measured 5 cm or more. E ighty nine (73%) were of the intestinal type, 15 (12.3%) were diffuse and 18 (14.8%) were mixed. Eighty (65.6%) were low histological grade and 42 (34.4%) were high grade. Ten (9.2%) were early carcinomas and 1 12 (91.8%) advanced carcinomas. An amplification of the c-erbB-2 oncog en was associated with tumors that were smaller than 5 cm (p = 0.05) a nd with histological low grade (p = 0.005). A five years survival corr elated with tumors smaller than 5 cm (p = 0.02), with parietal infiltr ation not surpassing the muscular layer (p = 0.001), and without lymph node metastases (p = 0.001). There was no association between surviva l and amplification of c-erbB-2 oncogen.