Effect of cellular reaction in gastric cancer tissue and in regional lymph nodes on the mitotic activity of cancer cells.

An in vivo stathmokinetic technique was used to analyze the mitotic activity of cancer cells from 47 gastric cancer patients. The effect of cellular reaction in cancer tissues and regional lymph nodes on the mitotic activity of cancer cells was examined. Based on the main kind of infiltrating cells in cancer tissues, the cellular reaction was classified into agranulocyte (lymphoid leukocyte) type and granulocyte type. Agranulocyte type was found in 40 cases. The mitotic activity of cancer cells was examined in relation to the degree of agranulocyte infiltration: the average mitotic index in cancer cells 16 hr aft a single dose (0.02 mg/kg body weight) of vincristine sulfate was 91.5% in 22 cases of trace and slight infiltration, 81.3% in 12 cases of moderate infiltration and 53.2% in 6 cases of marked infiltration. The 3 values of mitotic index were significantly different from one another. The relationship between the average mitotic index of cancer cells in primary cancer lesions and the 4 groups of regional lymph node reaction was examined. However, statistically significant results were not obtained. These results suggest that the infiltration of agranulocytes in cancer tissues affects the mitotic activity of cancer cells, and that moderate and marked degrees of infiltration suppress the mitotic activity. It was also suggested that the reaction of regional lymph nodes does not affect the mitotic activity of cancer cells in primary cancer lesions.