Prognostic evaluation of curatively resected locally advanced gastric cancer patients with preoperative downstaging chemotherapy assessed by histochemical and pharmacologic means.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the rate of thymidylate synthetase inhibition (TSIR) and the rate of proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression (PCNA-R) in gastric cancer tissues, which can be obtained within a short period after surgery, were predictive and quantitative prognostic factors for locally advanced gastric cancer patients with preoperative down-staging chemotherapy. Curatively resected 30 locally advanced gastric cancer patients with preoperative chemotherapies were studied. Three-year survival analysis showed that the higher TSIR and the lower PCNA-R significantly predicted better prognosis (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). Multiple regression test showed that the TSIR was a significantly predictive variable for 1-year survival (p < 0.05). The TSIR and PCNA-R could be predictive and quantitative prognostic factors in advanced gastric cancer patients who received preoperative downstaging chemotherapy.