Detecting cytokeratin 20 messenger RNA in the lymph nodes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction enabled more accurate determination of the clinicopathological staging of gastric cancer, best treatment approach, and prognosis.
Statistical analysis revealed that the combination of CK19 and CK20 could be useful in the exclusion of colorectal cancer, as well as the diagnosis and exclusion of gastric cancer.
Quantitative RT-PCR with CEA and CK-20 mRNA as target markers was introduced for peritoneal lavage diagnosis in 141 patients with clinically advanced gastric cancer from 9 different institutes.
The real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the CEA and/or CK20 transcripts in the peritoneal lavage fluid is useful for predicting the peritoneal recurrence in patients who are undergoing a curative resection for gastric cancer.
However, peritoneal recurrence-free survival was not different between CEA (CK20) mRNA-positive and -negative CRC patients, in quite contrast to GC cases.