Published online Jun 15, 1998. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v4.i3.225
Revised: March 4, 1998
Accepted: May 20, 1998
Published online: June 15, 1998
AIM: To investigate the correlation between the serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and the clinicopathologic features and to evaluate the possible prognostic significance of sICAM-1 concentration in gastric cancer.
METHODS: Thirty-four patients with gastric cancer were prospectively included and evaluated. Venous blood samples were collected before the surgery. Sera were obtained by centrifugation, and store at -30 °C until assay. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers. Serum concentrations of ICAM-1 were measured with the quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technic. Differences between the two groups were analyzed by Student’s t test. x- + 2s of normal control sICAM-1 was taken as upper limit to calculate the positive rates.
RESULTS: The mean value of serum ICAM-1 in patients with gastric cancer was 367.7 μg/L ± 104.7 μg/L and that of control group was 236.9 μg/L ± 74.3 μg/L, and the difference was significant (P < 0.001). The patients with tumor size of ≥ 5 cm had significantly higher serum concentrations of sICAM-1 than those with smaller ones (406.7 μg/L ± 90.2 μg/L vs 319.9 μg/L ± 105.3 μg/L, P < 0.01). Compared with stages I-II gastric cancer patients, patients with more advanced clinical stage (III-IV) had higher levels of sICAM-1 (397.1 μg/L ± 102.4 μg/L vs 306.0 μg/L ± 82.3 μg/L, P < 0.05). Difference was significant statistically in sICAM-1 levels between patients with positive lymph node status and those without lymph node involvement (403.6 μg/L ± 99.7 μg/L vs 302.7 μg/L ± 81.4 μg/L, P < 0.01). No relation was observed between the level of sICAM-1 and grade of histological differentiation in the patients with gastric cancer.
CONCLUSION: Serum sICAM-1 concentration may be a valuable parameter for predicting the prognosis and degree of the gastric cancer.