SIALYL-TN ANTIGEN AS A USEFUL PREDICTOR OF POOR-PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTSWITH ADVANCED STOMACH-CANCER

Sialyl-Tn antigen (STn) expression was studied immunohistochemically i n 211 primary advanced gastric carcinomas. The overall rate of positiv e STn staining was 17% (35/211), and positive STn staining was found n ot to be correlated with tumor size, depth of invasion, lymph node met astasis, liver metastasis, or peritoneal metastasis, However, patients with tumors that were immunoreactive for STn demonstrated significant ly lower survival (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that STn staining was an independent prognostic factor, From these findings we conclude that careful followup and intense postoperative therapy are r equired for patients with advanced gastric cancer who have positive im munoreactivity for STn.