IMMUNO-DISTRIBUTION AND EXPRESSION OF C-CBL PROTO-ONCOGENE IN HUMAN GASTRIC CANCEROUS TISSUES FROM WESTERN ALGERIA

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death worldwide.

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the immunohistochemical expression and distribution as well as the status of c-Cbl protein in human gastric cancerous cells.

Materials and Methods: Ninety six paraffin blocks of cancerous gastric tissues sections were collected from the Department of Pathology, of Oran Military Hospital (Western Algeria) for the period of 2006-2015. We performed an immunohistochemical protocol for c-Cbl detection and a statistical analysis for patients’ clinical-pathological parameters.

Results: 96 patients with gastric cancer were included in the current study. Median age of the patients with gastric cancer was 60 years (range, 27-87). There were 70 (72.9 %) males and 26 (27.1%) females; male to female ratio was about 2.7. The most common histological type was moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma 33 cases (34.4%). Our immunohistochemical analysis revealed that c-CBL protein was expressed in gastric cancerous cells but with different of immune-scoring and different immunostaining intensity. The most predominant observed score was score 2 in 20 cases (20.8%) followed by score 4 in 16 cases (16.7%); then score 3, 6 and 7. Concerning immunostaining levels; we reported an intense staining in 17 cases (17.7%); a moderate staining in 31 cases (32.3%); a poor staining in 27 cases (28.1%) and no staining in 21 cases (21.9%).

Conclusion: Our findings revealed that cCbl protein is expressed with important levels in human gastric cancer cells; which could be a good biomarker for gastric cancer diagnosis.