Clinicopathological significance of galectin-3 expression in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
OBJECTIVE
Galectin-3, a member of the beta-galactoside-binding lectin family, has multiple biological functions including cell-cell interactions and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation, and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of galectin-3 expression to clinicopathological findings and patient prognosis in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.


METHODS
We examined galectin-3 expression in 104 surgically resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases with stages I through IV using immunohistochemistry and investigated the relationship of it to overall survival.


RESULTS
Patients were divided into two groups: a low expression group, where <60% of tumor cells were positive; and a high expression group, where > or =60% of tumor cells were positive. Cases in the low expression group had a significant tendency to be at later stages, to have distant metastasis, and to have less differentiated tumors, compared with cases in the high expression group (P = 0.001 for stage, P = 0.001 for metastasis, and P = 0.006 for differentiation). Postoperative overall survival was worse in the low galectin-3 expression group than in the high galectin-3 expression group (P = 0.004). Multivariate analysis showed that the risk ratio of prognosis was 2.06 among patients in the low galectin-3 expression group compared with the high galectin-3 expression group (P = 0.006).


CONCLUSIONS
Decreased expression of galectin-3 was associated with advanced stage, tumor de-differentiation, and metastasis in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Galectin-3 expression might be a useful prognostic marker for survival in ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.
Shimamura
Takeshi
T
Pathology Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan.
Sakamoto
Michiie
M
Ino
Yoshinori
Y
Shimada
Kazuaki
K
Kosuge
Tomoo
T
Sato
Yasuto
Y
Tanaka
Katsuaki
K
Sekihara
Hisahiko
H
Hirohashi
Setsuo
S
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015153:Blotting, Western; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors
D037502:Galectin 3