Midkine mRNA is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer.
OBJECTIVE
Midkine (MK) has been reported to be a possible molecular marker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. We investigated the feasibility of quantitative analysis of MK mRNA by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) as a promising tool for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.


RESULTS
We found that pancreatic cancer tissues expressed significantly higher levels of MK mRNA than intraductal pancreatic mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues (P < 0.05); in contrast, we did not find any differences in MK mRNA expression between IPMN and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues. Additionally, we observed that poorly differentiated carcinoma samples expressed higher levels of MK mRNA than well-differentiated carcinoma samples, although a significant difference was not observed.


CONCLUSIONS
The present data suggests that quantitative analysis of MK mRNA provides an objective and sensitive evaluation and may be a promising modality for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the prediction of its prognosis.
Ohhashi
Seiji
S
Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
Ohuchida
Kenoki
K
Mizumoto
Kazuhiro
K
Egami
Takuya
T
Yu
Jun
J
Cui
Lin
L
Toma
Hiroki
H
Takahata
Shunichi
S
Nabae
Toshinaga
T
Tanaka
Masao
M
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D000078792:Midkine; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D016207:Cytokines; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000078792:Midkine