Objective: PTEN (phosphatase and tensin) is an important molecular marker that works as a tumor supressor gene located on the 10th chromosome (10q23.3). In this retrospective study, PTEN expression and its relationship with prognostic parameters have been investigated.
Study design: Slides obtained from paraffine blocks of 60 gastric adenocarcinoma immunohistochemically stained with PTEN (Clone 28H6, Novocastra, UK).
Results: Statistically significant relationship was found between Laurens classification, histologic grade and PTEN expression. But we were unable to show significant relationship with PTEN and vascular invasion, perineural invasion, lymph node metastasis, TNM (primary tumor, lymph node, distant metastasis) stage.
Conclusions: We found that PTEN expression loss is more prominent in the diffuse type carcinomas than the intestinal types and also there is a reverse correlation between histologic differentiation and PTEN loss. As a result PTEN expression was found to be related to malignant transformation, tumor progression and histologic grade.
Key words: PTEN, gastric adenocarcinoma
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