The nuclear expressions of ERK1/2 and p38 can be useful markers for tumor invasiveness and lymph node metastasis in stomach cancer

Abstract

15109 Background: Extracellular-regulated kinases (ERKs) were shown to have a function in cellular proliferation or differentiation and p38 were known as to be involved in apoptotic processes in tumor development. Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase(TIMP) have been known to be a important role in tumor cell invasion, which was postulated to be regulated by ERKs and p38. The clinical implication of ERKs and p38 on stomach cancer was investigated Methods: By immunohistochemistry with an antibody specific for dually phosphorylated ERK 1 /2 and 2 , TIMP-1 and -2, and p38 on formaline-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue, we have examined 57 primary stomach cancer consisting of 36 cases of intestinal type and 21 cases of diffuse type carcinomas. One-way ANOV(non-parametric) was used to compare differences among more three groups and paired T-test were used between groups.P<0.05 was considered as statistic significant. Results: The expression rate of ERK1/2 in the nuclei of the tumor cells was 21.5%, The expressions of ERK 2, TIMP-1 TIMP-2, were 56.4%, 50.9%, 61.4%. The expression rate of p38 in the tumor cells was 37.7%.. The p38 expression had significant correlation with invasion depth of tumor(p=0.016), lymph node metastasis(p=0.030), and TIMP-2 expression(p=0.038). ERK1/2 had significant association with tumor invasion(p=0.003), lymph node metastasis(p-0.013), tumor cell grades(p=0.030), and TIMP-1(p=0.029). ERK-2, TIMP-1 and 2 had no significant relationship to tumor invasion and metastasis Conclusions: These results suggest that the nuclear expressions of ERK1/2 and p38 can be the useful markers predicting the progression of stomach cancer towards invasiveness and metastasis No significant financial relationships to disclose.