M. Benekli et al., CIRCULATING INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 AND E-SELECTIN LEVELS IN GASTRIC-CANCER, British Journal of Cancer, 78(2), 1998, pp. 267-271
A diversity oi adhesive interactions occur between the cancer cell and
host extracellular matrix which potentiate neoplastic expansion and m
etastatic dissemination. In miscellaneous malignant diseases, tumour p
rogression has been observed to be associated with alterations in adhe
sion molecule expression. Recently, circulating soluble intercellular
adhesion molecules have been identified. In this study, serum levels o
f soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble E-se
lectin (sE-selectin) were determined in patients with gastric cancer.
The study group consisted of 27 patients with previously untreated gas
tric adenocarcinoma. Four patients had stage II, two patients stage II
I and 21 patients stage IV disease according to the TNM classification
. Nineteen patients had distant metastasis. The sera obtained from 18
healthy volunteers served as controls. Serum sICAM-1 and sE-selectin c
oncentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EL
ISA). In addition, we also studied other tumour-associated antigens, i
.e. CEA and CA 19-9, Serum sICAM-1 levels were significantly increased
in patients with gastric cancer (P < 0.0001), However, sE-selectin le
vels did not differ from the controls, sICAM-1 concentrations were als
o significantly higher in patients with distant metastasis and periton
eal spread (P = 0.0045 and P = 0.0157 respectively), whereas sE-Select
in levels were elevated only in patients with peritoneal metastasis (P
= 0.033). Serum concentrations of sICAM-1 and sE-selectin correlated
with CEA levels (P = 0.0013 and P = 0.003 respectively). Elevated leve
ls of sE-selectin were associated with poorer prognosis (P = 0.0099),
whereas sICAM-1 had no significant impact on survival. Our results sug
gest that increased sICAM-1 serum levels may reflect widespread diseas
e and contribute directly to the progression of gastric cancer. Furthe
r investigation of the molecular mechanisms of adhesive tumour-host in
teractions may lead to a better understanding of the natural history o
f gastric cancer.