Background/aims: Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in Japan. Genome-wide gene expression in the jejunal pouch mucosa was examined using a DNA microarray and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to evaluate the safety, especially with regard to carcinogenic changes, of the jejunal pouch in patients who showed long-term survival.
Methodology: Biopsy samples of jejunal pouch and jejunal conduit were collected from four patients who had undergone gastrectomy 9 to 13 years previously. Total RNA was extracted, amplified to give complementary RNA, labeled with Cyanine 3-CTP and hybridized with a whole human genome oligo microarray (44k). Gene expression was confirmed partly by qPCR.
Results: Although some changes in the expression of 417 reported cancer genes were observed with the DNA microarray, crucial changes related to small intestinal adenocarcinoma were not observed. Changes in the expression of eight genes related to small intestinal adenocarcinoma were also not detected by qPCR.
Conclusions: Crucial changes in the expression of genes related to small intestinal adenocarcinoma were not observed in the jejunal pouch of these four patients with gastric cancer by either DNA microarray or qPCR. The present results support the safety of the use of a jejunal pouch with a food pooling function in patients who show long-term survival after gastrectomy.