| Galectin-3, a member of the β-galactoside-binding animal lectins, an intracellular and extracellular lectin which interacts with intracellular glycoproteins, cell surface molecules and extracellular matrix proteins, has been shown to be implicated in cell growth, adhesion, apoptosis, angiogenesis, tumor invasion and metastasis, and to be expressed in several cancers, including human head and neck, thyroid, and colon cancer. However, scarce data are available in gastric cancer, moreover, its role in peritoneal metastasis of gastric cancer and patient prognosis has not been examined.We detected the expression of galectin-3 in 35 matching-samples of primary gastric cancers, their metastatic lymph nodes, peritoneal metastases or peritoneal dissemination and adjacent noncancerous mucosa using immunohistochemistry (IHC), real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) analysis to explore whether galectin-3 is related to the malignant progression and prognosis of gastric cancer patients. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis and IHC showed significantly higher expression of galectin-3 mRNA and protein levels in gastric cancer samples, peritonealmetastases specimens and metastatic lymphaden than that in nontumour mucosa. Galectin-3 mRNA signals and immunoreactivity were strongly present in most primary gastric cancer cells, synchronous metastatic cancerous lesions of the peritonaeum and lymph nodes, whereas in the noncancerous mucosa only faint RT-PCR signals and IHC reactivities were seen. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, mucous adenocarcinoma, Signet-ring cell carcinoma among histopathological subtypes of gastric cancer were mainly cancerous lesions with peritoneal metastasis.It has been shown that increase expression of galectin-3 in primary gastric cancer may be a reliable diagnostic marker of peritoneal metastasis and negative prognostic factor, by the same token, it will be the target protein of cancer treatment in primary gastric cancer.
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