MITOTIC ACTIVITY OF HUMAN GASTRIC CANCER CELLS UNDER STATHMOKINETIC EFFECT OF VINCRISTINE SULFATE

An in vivo stathmokinetic technique with vincristine sulfate (VCR) was used to analyze the mitotic activity of carcinoma cells from 53 gastric cancer patients, and the correlation between mitotic activity and various states of cancer was studied. In the metaplastic mucosa, almost all mitotic cells (96.4%) were found in the lower half segment of the mucosa. Therefore, the segment was thought to be the proliferative area. In the cancerous lesion as well as in the metaplastic mucosa, VCR produced increase in mitotic index permill (MI) due to the increase in mitotic cells at metaphase. After a single dose (0.02mg/kg body weight) of VCR, a rapid and linear increase in MI was found in the metaplastic mucosa during 16hr. The average value of MI analyzed at 16hr after VCR administration was 97.3‰ in the metaplastic mucosa and 84.1‰ in the cancerous lesion. Average cell production rate (CPR) was estimated as 4.6 cells/1, 000cells/hr in the metaplastic mucosa and 3.9cells/1, 000 cancer cells/hr in the cancerous lesion. Cancerous lesions showed changes of MI in various states; the increase in MI paralleled increase in the diameter, degree of stages, and in invasive layers of the gastric wall. The average MI of early cancer was 60.1‰ and that of advanced cancer was 95.0‰. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma revealed a higher value of MI (average, 91.0‰) than that (average, 78.1‰) of differentiated adenocarcinoma. Metastatic lesions also showed a higher value of MI (average, 120.1‰) than that (average, 95.0‰) of primary lesions. However, there was no correlation between the average values of MI and the location, degree of the stromal reaction, or types of infiltrative growth in the cancerous tissue, and age and sex of the patients.