SPONTANEOUS APOPTOSIS IS INVERSELY RELATED TO INTRATUMORAL MICROVESSEL DENSITY IN GASTRIC-CARCINOMA

Increasing evidence from experimental studies indicates that apoptosis may be related to angiogenesis in tumor progression, To explore how s pontaneous apoptosis correlates with tumor angiogenesis, we measured t he apoptotic index (AI) using the ApopTag kit (Oncor) and intratumoral microvessel density using an anti-CD34 monoclonal antibody in 101 cas es of gastric carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining for Ki-67 labeli ng index and the expression of p53 were conducted simultaneously. Stat istical analysis revealed an inverse correlation between AIs and intra tumoral microvessel densities (r = -0.4066, P < 0.0001) and failed to find significant correlations between AI and Ki-67 labeling index, as well as the expression of p53. The results of this study demonstrated for the first time that the incidence of apoptosis in gastric carcinom a is significantly influenced by the extent of neovascularization and suggests that tumor angiogenesis may contribute to a reduction of apop tosis in tumor cells.