title: A prospective study of K-ras mutations in the plasma of pancreatic cancer patients.
abstract: K-ras mutations are frequently found in primary pancreatic adenocarcinomas. In this prospective study, we looked for K-ras mutations in the plasma of patients with pancreatic cancer. We isolated plasma DNA from 21 pancreatic cancer patients using a simple and rapid extraction technique and detected K-ras alterations with a PCR assay and subsequent product sequencing. Patients were followed up to determine their clinical outcome. We found K-ras mutations in the plasma of 17 patients (81%). In cases in which both plasma and pancreatic tissue were available, DNA mutations were similar in corresponding plasma and tissue samples. Plasma DNA alterations were found 5-14 months before clinical diagnosis in four patients. Mutant DNA was not found in the plasma of two patients with chronic pancreatitis or in five healthy controls. Our results indicate that K-ras mutations are often found in DNA isolated from the plasma of pancreatic cancer patients and that a noninvasive plasma-based assay may provide qualitative diagnostic information to clinicians in the future. Larger studies are required to further assess the relevance of our findings to clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Diseases Research Centre, St. Bartholomew's, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Mulcahy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyautey
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lederrey
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: qi Chen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anker
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Alstead
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ballinger
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Farthing
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stroun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D011905:Genes, ras; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm