A new molecular marker of gastric cancer

March 31, 2009

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world with a high incidence and death rate. TNM staging system is used worldwide to predict prognosis and direct therapeutic decisions of patients with GC. However, the prognoses of patients with stage 2 and 3 GC are more heterogeneous and less predictable by staging criteria. Therefore, finding molecular markers that are able to predict the potential of tumor recurrence and prognosis of patients is extremely important for appropriate individualized therapy. Phosphatase regenerating liver 3 (PRL-3), a member of phosphotase of regenerating liver, has aroused broad attention in the research area of tumor metastasis. A growing body of evidence has proved PRL-3 to be an important metastatic instrumental molecule. In gastric cancer, PRL-3 was found to be highly expressed in tumor metastatic lymph nodes and closely associated with the peritoneal metastasis, but the prognostic impact of PRL-3 expression in gastric cancer still remains to be further investigated.

A research team led by Dr. Ji-You Li from Peking University University addressed this issue and their study will be published on March 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

In their study, PRL-3 expression in paraffin-embedded tumor specimens from 293 patients with gastric cancer was studied retrospectively by immunohistochemistry. Monoclonal antibody specifically against PRL-3, 3B6, was obtained with hybridoma technique.

Positive PRL-3 expression was detected in 43.3% (127 of 293) of gastric cancer cases. High expression of PRL-3 was positively correlated with tumor size, depth of invasion, vascular/lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, high TNM stage and tumor recurrence. Patients with positive PRL-3 expression had a significantly lower 5-year survival rate than those with negative expression (28.3% vs 51.9%, P < 0.0001). Patients who received curative surgery, and with positive PRL-3 expression had a significant shorter overall survival and disease-free disadvantage over patients with negative expression (hazard ratio of 16.7 and 16.6, respectively; P < 0.0001 for both). Multivariate analysis revealed that PRL-3 expression was an independent prognostic indicator for overall and disease-free survival of gastric cancer patients, particularly for survival in TNM stage 3 patients.

Their result indicated that PRL-3 expression is a new independent prognostic indicator to predict the potential of recurrence and survival in patients with gastric cancer at the time of tumor resection.

World Journal of Gastroenterology

---

---

	100 Q&A About Gastric Cancer (100 Questions & Answers about . . .) by Manish A. Shah (Author) About 21,700 Americans are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year and it occurs most often in people in their 60s and 70s. Whether you're a newly diagnosed patient with gastric cancer or a friend or relative of someone with cancer, this book offers help. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the physical and emotional turmoil of this disease. The author Dr. Shah is from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, one of the few National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers with a specific program in treating cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract and has made many of the major advances in the treatment of these diseases.
	Advances in Surgical Pathology: Gastric Cancer by Dongfeng Tan (Editor), Gregory Lauwers (Editor) Advances in Surgical Pathology: Gastric Cancer provides a concise, updated review of the pathological characteristics of gastric cancer, with an emphasis on exploring practical issues and recent developments. The book features current and emerging concepts in the field of gastric cancer, a disease whose management requires a multidisciplinary approach in which pathology plays a key role. Its six sections cover the essential histopathology of gastric cancer as well as related topics such as imaging evaluation, molecular diagnosis, and personalized treatment, among other areas of interest. Individual chapters written by international experts in the fields of pathology, gastrointestinal medical oncology, cancer epidemiology, and gastrointestinal radiology, address the fundamental issues...
	Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Cancer: Standard Techniques and Clinical Evidences by Seigo Kitano (Editor), Han-Kwang Yang (Editor) The first laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy for gastric cancer was performed in Japan in 1991. In the ensuing 20 years, at first through a process of trial and error, then through the sharing of master surgeons’ accumulated experience, the procedure has been honed and refined to its current high level. From the beginning, it soon became evident that this much less invasive form of gastrectomy, in comparison with traditional open surgery, led to improved quality of life for postsurgical patients, and use of the procedure spread rapidly among gastric surgeons.  Early on, however, there were calls for the establishment of standard techniques and procedures to be followed, with a recognized need to improve the level of safety and the quality of lymph node dissection for local control in...
	21st Century Adult Cancer Sourcebook: Gastric Cancer (Stomach Cancer) - Clinical Data for Patients, Families, and Physicians by Progressive Management Authoritative information and practical advice from the nation's cancer experts about gastric (stomach) cancer includes official medical data on signs, symptoms, early detection, diagnostic testing, risk factors and prevention, treatment options, surgery, radiation, drugs, chemotherapy, staging, biology, prognosis, and survival, with a complete glossary of technical medical terms and current references. Starting with the basics, and advancing to detailed patient-oriented and physician-quality information, this comprehensive in-depth compilation gives empowered patients, families, caregivers, nurses, and physicians the knowledge they need to understand the diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer. Comprehensive data on clinical trials related to gastric cancer is...
	Surgery in the Multimodal Management of Gastric Cancer by Giovanni De Manzoni (Editor), Franco Roviello (Editor), Walter Siquini (Editor) The aim of this volume is to present the state of the art in the integrated surgical and oncological management of gastric cancer. Several aspects of early and advanced gastric carcinoma have been analyzed; from the surgical viewpoint, there is a focus on the extent of lymphadenectomy and of visceral resection, and on the different open and minimally invasive surgical techniques; while from the oncological perspective, neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and palliative care in advanced gastric cancer are discussed. Operative endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography are also discussed, as these now have an important role in both diagnostic work-up and palliative care of patients with advanced gastric cancer. It is a practical book that is easy to read but packed with first-rate scientific evidence that...
	The Biology of Gastric Cancers by Timothy Wang (Editor), James Fox (Editor), Andy Giraud (Editor) The purpose of this work is to provide a general and comprehensive reference work on the biology of gastric cancers for those researchers working in this area. This monograph will be written by a panel of experts in each area and represent the latest work in a series of different areas of gastric cancer research.
	Radiologic Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer: A new Outlook by L.M. Portnoy (Author) L.M. Portnoy is one of Russia's leading radiologists. This book is the result of his more than 30 years' experience in the field of cancer diagnosis. The author reviews for us the potentials – currently greatly underestimated – of radiological examination and the traditional X-ray for the diagnosis of gastric cancer. This comprehensive overview of methodological approaches to the X-ray examination of the stomach and corrected tumor semiotics will help practicing physicians and residents to diagnose even the most minuscule tumors. Portnoy covers all diagnostic methods related to abdominal cancer, with thorough explanations of the methodological, semiotic, and organizational aspects. This work by one of the best-known Russian specialists in X-ray diagnosis will be of interest not...
	Gastric Cancer (Contemporary Issues in Cancer Imaging) by Richard M. Gore (Editor) Gastric adenocarcinoma is the second most common cancer worldwide. It is usually diagnosed at a late stage and prognosis is poor; even with modern diagnostic and treatment methods the 5-year survival is only 10%. Improvements in overall patient survival can only be achieved by earlier diagnosis and by tailored therapeutic strategies based on tumor type, location and stage at presentation. This volume provides a state-of-the-art, integrated diagnostic and therapeutic approach to patient management. The role of the upper GI series, endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, MDCT, MRI, and PET/CT in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of patients with gastric cancer is emphasized. The relative strengths and limitations of these diagnostic examinations will be presented in context with the most...
	The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Gastric Cancer: A Revised and Updated Directory for the Internet Age by Icon Health Publications (Author) This sourcebook has been created for patients who have decided to make education and Internet-based research an integral part of the treatment process. Although it gives information useful to doctors, caregivers and other health professionals, it also tells patients where and how to look for information covering virtually all topics related to gastric cancer, from the essentials to the most advanced areas of research. The title of this book includes the word official. This reflects the fact that the sourcebook draws from public, academic, government, and peer-reviewed research. Selected readings from various agencies are reproduced to give you some of the latest official information available to date on gastric cancer. Following an introductory chapter, the sourcebook is organized into...
	Radiodiagnosis of Endophytic Gastric Cancer by L. M. Portnoi (Author), M. P. Dibirov (Author)