Abstract:
Objective This study investigates the expression of OVA66 in gastric cancer and evaluates the correlation between expression and invasion and between metastasis and prognosis.
Methods A total of 52 patients with gastric cancer were selected and followed up. The expression of OVA66 in the primary focus of the stomach, normal gastric mucosa, and metastatic lymph node were examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The correlations between the OVA66 expression and tumor invasion, metastasis, and prognosis, were assessed.
Results The expression of OVA66 in gastric primary focus and metastatic lymph nodes significantly increased, but was nearly absent in the normal gastric mucosa (P < 0.05). The expression of OVA66 was significantly higher in patients with infiltrating-type gastric cancer, penetrated serosa, areas of serosa over 20 cm2, and metastatic nodes over 7 (P < 0.01). The patients with a higher OVA66 expression (27.5 %) had a significantly lower survival rate compared with that of patients with lower OVA66 expression (58.3 %), χ2 = 10.10, P= 0.001 5).
Conclusion The up-regulated expression of OVA66 has a major fimction in tumor invasion, metastasis, and poor prognosis. The expression of OVA66 is a good molecular marker that reflects the biological behaviors of gastric cancer.