CLOSE CORRELATION BETWEEN INCREASED SIALYL-LEWIS(X) EXPRESSION AND METASTASIS IN HUMAN GASTRIC-CARCINOMA

Expression of sialyl-Lewis(x) (sLe(x)) antigen was studied immunohisto chemically in 110 resected human gastric carcinomas using an anti-sLe( x) monoclonal antibody. Lymph node, liver, and peritoneal metastases w ere clearly more prevalent in tumors expressing high levels of sLe(x) than in those with no or low-level sLe(x). expression. No correlation was round between sLe(x): expression and histologic grade or histologi c type of the Lauren classification. Among the tumors with lymph node metastasis, 44% expressed high levels of sLe(x) in both the primary tu mor and involved lymph nodes, and 14% of the metastatic lesions demons trated increased sLe(x) expression. The 5-year survival rate of the pa tients undergoing complete (RO) gastric resections was 60% in the sLe( x) high-expression group, which was significantly lower than that of t he sLe(x) low-expression group (81%) and of the no-expression group (8 7%) p < 0.05). These results suggest that high-level sLe(x) expression is related to both an increased; risk of metastasis and poor prognosi s in gastric cancer patients.