Association of macrophages detected with monoclonal antibody 25 F 9 with progression and pathobiological classification of gastric carcinoma.

Using monoclonal antibody 25 F 9, which reacts with a determinant of mature macrophages, the inflammatory infiltrate of 66 gastric carcinomas was evaluated using a counting grid. The ratio tumor cells/macrophages was determined for every tumor. For a threshold value of 5, carcinomas with a better prognosis, such as the intestinal type according to Lauré, the expanding type according to Ming and the differentiated carcinomas according to the WHO had a significantly smaller relative content of 25 F 9-positive macrophages (a minimum of P less than 0.05) than the diffuse type, infiltrative type, and undifferentiated carcinomas. Furthermore, the relative macrophage content tended to increase with the stage of carcinomas spread (P less than 0.1). The results suggested that 25 F 9-positive macrophages in gastric carcinoma are of greater significance in tumor spread than in any defensive reaction against the tumor.