Clinical Implification of Molecular Biological Parameter for Prognostic Factor in Digestive Organ Cancer

To clarify a prognostic significance of molecular biological parameters, the correlation between oncogene amplifications and clinical characteristics were investigated in this study. Oncogene amplification was estimated by the slot-blot hybridization method. In esophageal cancer, int-2 and c-erb B amplifications were detected in 28% and 12% of cases, respectively. In gastric cancer, int-2 and c-erb B-2 amplifications were detected in 16% and 22%, respectively. The 5-year survival rate of cancer patients with amplifications was significantly lower than that of those without amplification. The int-2 amplification in esophageal cancer was closely correlated with distant organ metastasis after radical surgery. The c-erb B amplification was correlated with lymph node metastasis at operation. The same results were obtained in gastric cancer patients with int-2 amplification. These data indicate that molecular biological parameters are useful markers in the treatment of cancer patients.