J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 90(1): 12-21, 1989

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Original article

STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESMOSOMES AND THE MODE OF INFILTRATION AND METASTASIS OF ESOPHAGEAL CANCER

To define highly metastatic esophageal cancers morphologically, desmosomes were evaluated numerically and morphologically under electron microscope. Twenty-six esophageal cancers were analyzed.The prognosis of patients was also analysed with reference to the findings of desmosomes.
The number of desmosomes per cell perimeter was significantly reduced in cancer cells (8.9±3.4/cell), as compared with normal esophageal epithelia (21.0±2.6/cell), especially in epidermoid carcinoma invading as thin irregular cords of cells or with metastasis to lymph nodes (7.8±3.1/cell) and distant organs (4.8±4.3). A positive correlation was found between desmosomes and prognosis. These results suggested that the number of desmosomes was a good parameter for malignancy of esophageal cancer.

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