[Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in the mucosa of human remnant stomach, and the clinical significance on tumor promotion].

Ornithine Decarboxylase (ODC) is the most important and rate-determining enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of polyamines which have received attention as potential indicators for neoplastic diseases. Here I report my results of the ODC activity in biopsy specimens of the mucosa from the remnant stomach in 45 cases followed closely within twenty years after the initial gastrectomy. I found that the mucosa at the anastomotic region showed higher ODC activity than that from any other region (p < 0.01). In all 20 cases which had undergone reconstruction Billroth II, the mucosa at the anastomotic region showed higher ODC activities than from the 20 cases which had undergone Billroth I (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the mucosa after Billroth II showed a gradually increasing mean ODC activity with time. Histologically, I found atrophy of the glands with foveolar hyperplasia more in the anastomotic region than in any other part of the remnant stomach (p < 0.001) and more so in those cases of Billroth II. These results suggest mucosal ODC activity may be a useful and effective biological indicator of the risk of carcinogenesis in the human remnant stomach.