Detection of point mutations in the K-ras oncogene at codon 12 in pure pancreatic juice for diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Mutations in the K-ras oncogene at codon 12 are detected at a remarkably high frequency in pancreatic carcinomas and are believed to be a critical event in oncogenesis. The authors attempted to detect K-ras mutations in DNA obtained from pure pancreatic juice collected endoscopically, as a novel diagnostic approach to pancreatic carcinoma.


METHODS
K-ras mutations were examined using the two-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction enzyme digestion, followed by nonradioisotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis.


RESULTS
Specific mutations of the K-ras gene at codon 12 were found in six of nine (67%) duct cell carcinomas, all of which were negative by cytodiagnosis of the same pure pancreatic juice. K-ras mutations were not detected in the pancreatic juice from 14 healthy control subjects, 10 patients with chronic pancreatitis, or 3 patients with islet cell tumors.


CONCLUSIONS
Detection of K-ras mutation at codon 12 in pancreatic juice is highly specific for diagnosing pancreatic duct cell carcinoma and may be a valuable diagnostic modality for pancreatic carcinoma and for differentiating chronic pancreatitis from carcinoma.
Kondo
H
H
Department of Internal Medicine, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo.
Sugano
K
K
Fukayama
N
N
Kyogoku
A
A
Nose
H
H
Shimada
K
K
Ohkura
H
H
Ohtsu
A
A
Yoshida
S
S
Shimosato
Y
Y
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D007516:Adenoma, Islet Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism; D010189:Pancreatic Juice / Q000737:chemistry*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
D003062:Codon; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D004247:DNA