S100A4 mRNA is a diagnostic and prognostic marker in pancreatic carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical significance of S100A4 mRNA expression in pancreatic cancer.


METHODS
We obtained invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) cells from ten lesions, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) cells from 20 lesions, and normal ductal cells from 20 normal pancreatic tissues by laser microdissection of frozen tissues. S100A4 expression was examined in the microdissected cells and in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples of 87 pancreatic cancers by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
IDC cells expressed higher levels of S100A4 than IPMN cells (P = 0.002) and normal ductal cells (P < 0.001), although the difference between IPMN cells and normal ductal cells was not statistically significant (P = 0.070). Analysis of FFPE samples revealed that high S100A4 expression was significantly associated with a shorter overall survival (P = 0.023). In immunohistochemical analysis, the extent of S100A4 mRNA expression was significantly correlated with the expression of S100A4 protein (P = 0.028).


CONCLUSIONS
S100A4 could be a marker for malignancy in pancreatic tumors and for poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer.
Ikenaga
Naoki
N
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
Yu
Jun
J
Fujita
Hayato
H
Nakata
Kohei
K
Ueda
Junji
J
Sato
Norihiro
N
Nagai
Eishi
E
Tanaka
Masao
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000071999:S100 Calcium-Binding Protein A4; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000071999:S100 Calcium-Binding Protein A4; D009418:S100 Proteins; C077591:S100A4 protein, human