Prognostic value of tumor cell proliferation and intratumor microvessel density in advanced gastric cancer treated with curative surgery

To clarify the prognostic value of tumor cell proliferation [proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)positive rate assessed by anti-PCNA immunostaining] and intratumor microvessel density (/0.74 mm(2), assessed by anti-CD34 immunostaining) in gastric cancer, 192 advanced gastric cancer patients who underwent curative surgery were investigated. Multivariate analysis showed that the following variables were significantly related to prognosis: age (P=0.029), depth of invasion (P=0.005), lymph node metastasis (P=0.006), lymphatic invasion (P=0.038), venous invasion (P=0.0005), PCNA-positive rate (P=0.049) and intratumor microvessel density (P=0.011). In conclusion, tumor cell proliferation and intratumor microvessel density were independent prognostic factors in patients with advanced gastric cancer undergoing curative surgery.