Primäre Magenkarzinome und ihre synchronen Metastasen unterscheiden sich im Expressionsprofil prognoserelevanter Antigene

Metastasis is the principal event leading to death in cancer patients. However, expression of diagnostic and therapeutic molecules is determined in primary tumors, although they are often completely resectable. Therefore, the present study immunohistochemically compared the expression profile of various prognostic molecules in primary gastric tumors (n = 35) and their synchronous metastases (regional lymph nodes, n = 32, liver, n = 10, peritoneum, n = 17). Lewis X and ICAM-1 revealed a similar expression pattern in primary and metastatic lesions. Contrary, in comparison to the primary cancers, CD44 expression was upregulated in the metastatic tumors independently of their localisation (p = 0.009). E-cadherin and LFA-3 expression were preferentially increased in distant metastases, but not in locally advanced gastric tumors (liver: E-cadherin, p = 0.001; liver and peritoneum: LFA-3, p = 0.0067). These data suggest the consideration of the metastatic protein profile for the selection of cancer patients in new molecular therapeutic strategies.