Low epithelial cell proliferation and absence of oncoprotein expression in juvenile polyposis of the stomach, with or without tumors.

Abstract

The cell proliferation of JPs is relatively low and the polyps can be considered hamartomatous. However, neoplastic change clearly can occur in association with a relative increase in proliferative activity being observed in coexisting tumors. Low cellular proliferative activity and absence of oncogenetic abnormalities in tumors of JPs, compared with their conventional counterpart tumors, suggest that pathways of tumorigenesis and genetic alteration in JPs may be different from those in their conventional counterparts.