Expression of Sialosyl Tn Mucin Antigen in Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Its Relationship with Prognostic Factors

Chang, Sun Hee; Kim, Ho Jung; Sung, Sun Hee; Koo, Hea Soo; Han, Woon Sub

Abstract

Sialosyl Tn mucin antigen (STn) is a carbohydrate antigen of tumor associated mucin formed by the premature 2~6 sialation of N-acetylgalactosamine. STn has been expressed in several tumor types and showed prognostic significance in colonic carcinoma. The authors evaluated the expression of STn immunohistochemically and correlated its expression with clinicopathologic variables in 100 gastric cancers. In early gastric cancer, STn was expressed in 24 cases out of 50 cases (48%). In advanced gastric cancer, STn was expressed in 48 of 50 (96%). The difference in STn expression between advanced gastric cancer and early gastric cancer was statistically significant. The difference in STn expression between tumors with lymph node metastasis and those without lymph node metastasis, between tubular adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma, and between intestinal type and diffuse type adenocarcinoma was statistically insignificant in early or advanced gastric adenocarcinoma. These results suggest that the STn expression plays a role in the tumor progression in both early and advanced gastric adenocarcinomas.