| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to clarify the biological features of carcinogenesis and progression of esophageal carcinoma with investigating the distribution of carcinoma-related gene expression by immunohistochemical study.
Regarding carcinogenesis, proliferating activity evaluated by PCNA labeling index, expression of HLA-DR antigen and TGF-beta 1 in esophageal epithelial dysplasia, carcinoma in-situ and invasive squamous cell carcinoma was immunohistochemically investigated. As results, PCNA labeling indx and expression of HLA-DR antigen and TGF-beta 1 in the lesions of dysplasia, especially in the atpical cell layr were similar to those of carcinoma in-situ. These results suggested that squamous epithelial dysplasia of the esophagus is a "subcancerous lesion" rather than a "precancerous lesion".
Although the relationship between angiogenesis and tumor proliferation or malignant potential has been previously demonstarated in several studies, early stage of cancer invasion and angiogen
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esis has seldom been investigated. From the esophageal specimens of eight recently resected cases with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, 25 areas of carcinoma-in-situ or microinvasive carcinoma were selected, and then serial histologic investigation and immunohistochemical staining for detection of Factor VIII-related antigen to investigate microvessels in the lamina propria mucosae beneath the lesions as a measure of angiogeneses were performed. In view of ealy cancerous invasion, histologic patterns of the growth of the lesions were divided into "flat, " "expansive, " and "downgrowth" patterns. The angiogenetic ratio (the number of vessels/cm under the lesions divided that under normal epithelium) was obseaved to be significantly and closely related to tumor invasion patterns (P<0.01), although it was not related to the destruction of the basement membrane or lymphocyte infiltration below the lesions. The angiogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is closely correlated to the tumor invasion patterns in early esophageal cancerous lesions. Less
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