ABSTRACT
AIM: The study of the frequency and evolution of upper digestive tract dyspepsia in a group of patients operated for early gastric cancer (EGC) and to perform a strategy of diagnosis for the patients with long term upper digestive tract dyspepsia. METHODS: Clinical data of 35 patients operated for EGC were retrospectively evaluated. The frequency, characteristics and evolution time of upper digestive tract dyspepsia, main when it began more than 6 months before surgery, were analyzed. Radiologic and endoscopic exams carried out for diagnosis were also evaluated. Histological diagnosis of surgical specimens were considered, looking for the presence of chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and peptic gastric ulcer. RESULTS: Long-term upper digestive tract dyspepsia was present in 27 patients (mean evolution time of 43.4 months). Clinical changes of previous symptoms that suggested gastric carcinoma were not found in 15 patients. Concurrent peptic gastric carcinoma were not found in 15 patients. Concurrent peptic gastric ulcer along with EGC was diagnosed by histology in 11 patients, and chronic atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia were both present in the non-tumoral gastric mucosa in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Unspecific upper digestive tract dyspepsia is frequently found in patients with EGC. 2) Endoscopy should be the first exam performed in patients with upper digestive tract dyspepsia. 3) The patients with gastric ulcer, chronic atrophic gastritis or intestinal metaplasia must be submitted to sequential endoscopic follow-up.
Subject(s)
Dyspepsia/complications , Stomach Neoplasms/complications , Dyspepsia/pathology , Humans , Precancerous Conditions/pathology , Retrospective Studies , Stomach/pathology , Stomach Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
AIM: To analyze differences in the proliferative pattern of normal mucosa between patients with colorectal cancer and healthy subjects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: By using flow cytometry we examined the proliferative pattern (Proliferative Index and S-Phase) in samples of normal mucosa from 34 patients operated on for colorectal cancer at our hospital and from 14 healthy subjects as a control group. RESULTS: All examined samples were diploid. The Proliferative Index and S-Phase in the Cancer Group were significantly higher than in the Control Group (16.7 +/- 5.9 vs 11.4 +/- 4, p < 0.003, and 11.9 +/- 3.9 us 6.6 +/- 3 p < 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence for an altered proliferative pattern in the healthy colonic mucosa of patients with colorectal cancer.
Subject(s)
Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology , Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology , Intestinal Mucosa/pathology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biopsy , Cell Division , Chi-Square Distribution , Colorectal Neoplasms/epidemiology , Female , Flow Cytometry , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reference ValuesABSTRACT
Colonic carcinogenesis is probably related to a disturbance in cell proliferation of the colonic mucosa. The present study was designed to determine whether patients with adenomatous polyps of the colon, which have a tendency to develop synchronous malignancies of the colon, have any disturbance in mucosal cell proliferation. Using flow cytometry the proliferative index, and the S and G2M phases of normal mucosa and tumoral tissue of patients with colorectal cancer (synchronous, alone, or associated with adenomatous polyps) were studied. No differences were found between the there groups of study at the level of proliferation pattern of normal mucosa. Our findings do not support the development of synchronous or metachronous colon cancer in patients with polyps on the basis of different patterns of cell proliferation.
