CDw75 is a significant histopathological marker for gastric carcinoma.

Aim: To study the expression of CDw75 in patients with gastric carcinoma and to correlate CDw75 expression with progression of the tumor.

Methods: Immunohistochemical method was used to examine the expression of CDw75 in 72 cases of the gastric carcinoma and adjacent normal gastric mucosa, and the percentage of the cells positively stained with CDw75 was calculated using a computer-aided microscopic image analysis system.

Results: CDw75 was not expressed in normal gastric mucosa but detected in 37 of the 72 neoplastic gastric lesions. The expression of CDw75 was associated with the tumor progression as indicated by its close correlation with the depth of the tumor infiltration (chi(2)=18.415, P<0.01), TNM stage (chi(2)=10.419, P<0.05) and lymph node metastasis (chi(2)=6.675, P<0.01). The overall survival rate of the patients with positive CDw75 expression (32.4%) was significantly lower than that of the patients without CDw75 expression (71.4%) (P<0.01). There was no significant correlation between the expression of CDw75 and the sex and age and histological type of patients (P>0.05).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the expression of CDw75 is a significant histopathological marker for more advanced stage of gastric carcinoma and indicates a poor prognosis for the patients.