β-Catenin Expression in Gastric Carcinogenesis

Background: The molecular pathogenesis of gastric carcinoma is not yet well characterized. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of β-catenin in gastric carcinogenesis. Methods: We analyzed β-catenin expression using immunohistochemistry on 68 gastric adenomas and 34 gastric adenocarcinomas, and compared the result with pathological and molecular types of tumors and E-cadherin expression. Results: Nuclear expression of β-catenin was noted more frequently in gastric adenomas than in carcinomas (40% vs. 21%, 0.05≤p<1). There was no significant relationship between nuclear β-catenin expression and histologic degree of adenoma, histologic type of carcinoma or microsatellite instability. E-cadherin expression showed significantly more frequent decrease in the membrane stainability of carcinomas compared to adenomas (p