Mucin glycoproteins in human gallbladder carcinoma and their biological effects on tumor invasion and metastasis capability.

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The overall prognosis of gallbladder carcinoma is poor because of a high percentage of advanced cases at the time of operation and thereby a lower curability. pT2 carcinoma is limited in the gallbladder wall, and therefore a high curability as well as a better prognosis can be expected. However, the prognosis has not been necessarily good since distant recurrences are found in some cases of pT2 carcinomas. Alterations in glycosilation of mucins, such as an alteration in the site of O-glycosylation of mucin core proteins or an enhanced sialylation of carbohydrate structures, are known in the process of malignant transformation.Sialylated MUC1 recognized by a mAb MY.1E12 (Jpn J Cancer Res 1996;87:488-496) has been used as a marker for invasive adenocarcinomas. In pT2 gallbladder carcinoma, the high level expression of stromal localization of sialylated MY.1E12-reactive-MUC1 at the invading sites correlates with the aggressiveness of the disease, such as the tendency to form distant metastasis.Thus, alterations in carbohydrate chains of carcinoma-producing mucin glycoproteins potentiate the capability of tumor invasion and/or metastasis.