Significance of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in gastric cancer in relation to lymph node metastasis.

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in gastric cancer was evaluated in relation to lymph node metastasis. A total of 125 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy were studied immunohistochemically. The PCNA-positive rate of the primary lesion with lymph node metastasis (47.6%) was significantly higher than those in those without metastasis (24.3%, P < 0.0001). The PCNA-positive rate of early gastric cancer was significantly higher in lesions with lymph node metastasis (36.9%) than in lesions without lymph node metastasis (14.7%). However, there was no significant difference between lesions with and without lymph node metastasis in advanced gastric cancer. In addition, the PCNA-positive rate in metastatic lesions (44.6%) was significantly higher than that in the primary lesion (40.0%, P = 0.001). It is concluded that gastric cancer with higher tumor growth activity has a higher rate of lymph node metastasis. Cancer cells in the metastatic foci of lymph node have a higher proliferating activity than that in the primary lesion.