A total of 396 adenocarcinomas of the stomach were examined immunohistochemically using antibodies specific for the internal domain of human c-erbB-2 protein. Forty of these (consisting of 35 well-differentiated and 5 undifferentiated types) overexpressed c-erbB-2, as evidenced by cytoplasmic membrane staining; these tumors were further examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization using a cosmid probe for 17q11.2-12 (c-erbB-2 locus) on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. This technique enabled us not only to detect c-erbB-2 amplification on a cell-by-cell basis, but also to compare the gene amplification with the protein expression, observe topographical distribution, and establish quantitative pictures of the amplification in vivo condition. In all 40 tumors, we observed gene amplification and found that the cancer cell with the amplification corresponded to the cells overexpressing c-erbB-2. In eight mucosal carcinomas, signals were coalesced to one or two clusters, indicating that the amplified gene resided in a homogeneous staining region (HSR). Among 32 carcinomas invading beyond muscularis mucosae, approximately half were mostly composed of cells with the amplification; the others had populations of tumor cells with and without amplification, which were sometimes in separate zones or areas and sometimes mixed together. In 22 cancers, the amplified genes were exclusively in HSR; however, cancer cells with multiple scattered signals-suggesting that the amplified genes were translocated to other chromosomes-were found exclusively in 6 tumors and concurrently with HSR in 4 tumors. These findings suggest that: (a) the amplification produces c-erbB-2 in the HSR form generally early in the carcinogenesis of gastric adenocarcinomas; and (b) in the process of cancer development, the amplified gene is lost in some cancer cells by uneven segregation of HSR in mitosis, whereas in others, it is kept in HSR or translocated to other chromosomal positions, thereby preserving overexpression of c-erbB-2 protein.