Published online Aug 24, 2021. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v12.i8.688
Peer-review started: January 27, 2021
First decision: March 31, 2021
Revised: April 9, 2021
Accepted: July 23, 2021
Article in press: July 23, 2021
Published online: August 24, 2021
Processing time: 208 Days and 1.7 Hours
Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly heterogeneous disease, and the identification of molecular subtyping of gastric adenocarcinoma emerged as a promising option to define therapeutic strategies and prognostic subgroups. However, the costs and technical complexity of molecular methodologies remains an obstacle to its adop
To evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and long-term survival of GC based on the subgroups of molecular classification by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and in situ hybridization (ISH).
We retrospectively evaluated all patients who underwent D2-gastrectomy between 2009 and 2016 in a Western cohort of GC patients treated with curative intent. Microsatellite instability (MSI) status, E-cadherin, and p53 expression were analyzed by IHC, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by ISH. Tissue microarrays were constructed for analysis. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival of GC were evaluated according to subtypes defined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network Group and Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG) classification systems.
A total of 287 GC patients were included. Based on IHC and ISH analysis, five profiles were defined as follows: E-cadherin aberrant (9.1%), MSI (20.9%), p53 aberrant (36.6%), EBV positivity (10.5%), and p53 normal (31%), which corresponded to tumors that showed no alteration in another profile. A flowchart according to the TCGA and ACRG classifications were used to define the sub
The IHC/ISH analysis was able to distinguish immunophenotypic groups of GC with distinct characteristics and prognosis, resembling the subtypes of the mo
Core Tip: In this study, patients with gastric cancer (GC) were retrospectively evaluated based on subgroups of molecular classification by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Microsatellite instability status, e-cadherin, p53 expression, and Epstein-Barr virus were evaluated in a Western cohort of GC patients treated with curative intent, where it was possible to obtain subgroups with different clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Thus, our findings demonstrate that through techniques used in the routine pathological evaluation it is possible to identify immunophenotypic groups of GC similar to those determined by the molecular classification.