Cell kinetics of human gastric mucosa and gastric cancer in organ culture.

The cell kinetics of human gastric epithelium in organ culture have been measured using flash labelling with tritiated thymidine and the metaphase arrest technique to estimate cell birth rates. Normal gastric antral and body mucosa have been compared with mucosa showing gastritis and gastric carcinoma. Labelling indices with tritiated thymidine in normal gastric mucosa declined over a 48-h period suggesting that essential growth factors were lacking. Labelling indices and cell birth rates were higher in gastritis than in normal mucosa and highest in gastric carcinoma. Labelling indices were higher in intestinal-type gastric carcinoma than diffuse carcinoma. In metaphase arrest experiments carcinomas showed on average an eightfold increase in resistance to the metaphase-arresting properties of vincristine when compared with normal mucosa. The validity of using the metaphase arrest technique to measure cell birth rate in gastric cancers in view of this vincristine resistance is discussed.