EPO-R expression patterns in resected gastric adenocarcinoma followed by adjuvant chemoradiation treatment.

The primary aim was to determine whether Epo-R immunohistochemical expression is related to disease free survival (DFS) in specimens of GC from patients who underwent adjuvant chemoradiation. Specimens of gastric adenocarcinomas obtained from 44 patients who had undergone curative gastrectomy and adjuvant treatment were investigated immunohistochemically expression of Epo-R. Three patterns for Epo-R staining were defined: Pattern A (secretory cells-like staining), Pattern B (parietal-like staining) and Pattern C (chief-like staining). Median DFS was 38 months (CI 95%: 33-43) and 15 months (IC 95%: 3-27) in the pattern B and C, respectively, but it was not reached in the pattern A (p = 0.06). Our findings suggest that there may be a relationship between Epo-R expression and DFS in the patients with GC resected.