Korean J Pathol.
2004 Dec;38(6):388-393.
CD24 Expression in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Is Associated with Tumor Invasiveness
- Affiliations
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- 1Departments of Pathology, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea. yepark@hallym.ac.kr
- 2Departments of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
Abstract
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BACKGROUND: CD24, also referred to as the heat stable antigen in mice, is a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol- linked glycoprotein expressed by thymocytes, B cells, neutrophils and immature neuronal cells. It has been recently observed in a variety of human malignancy. Here, we demonstrated the expression of CD24 in gastric adenocarcinomas.
METHODS
A total of 40 gastric adenocarcinomas and 20 tubular adenomas were immunohistochemically examined for the expression of CD24 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) proteins. The immunoreactivity of CD24 was semiquantitatively scored (0, 1+, 2+) and compared with clinicopathologic variables and MMP-2 expression in tumor cells.
RESULTS
CD24 was rarely expressed in normal gastric tissue and not expressed in tubular adenoma. In contrast, a moderate/strong expression (2+) of CD24 was observed in 25% of gastric adenocarcinomas, and 30% cases showed a weak CD24 staining (1+). Moreover, CD24 expression was significantly correlated with the depth of tumor invasion and MMP-2 expression.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that the aberrant expression of CD24 in gastric adenocarcinomas might be associated with tumor progression and invasiveness.
