title: Tumour epithelial vimentin expression and outcome of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tumour epithelial vimentin expression is a marker of mesenchymal differentiation and may be a useful marker of carcinomas with more aggressive behaviour. The aim of this study was to determine the extent and prognostic significance of vimentin expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vimentin expression was detected by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays of surgically resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas from 387 patients. The percentage of vimentin-immunolabelled neoplastic cells was correlated with outcome and with clinico-pathological factors using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox multivariate survival models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 45% of primary pancreatic adenocarcinomas contained neoplastic cells that expressed vimentin, and in 27.5% of the cancers >10% of cells expressed vimentin. Vimentin expression was correlated with poor histological differentiation. By both uni- and multivariate survival analysis, neoplastic vimentin expression (P<0.01, HR 1.52, 95% confidence interval 1.14-2.04) was an indicator of a shorter postsurgical survival independent of other clinico-pathological variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of vimentin-expressing tumour epithelial cells in surgically resected pancreatic adenocarcinomas independently predicted a shorter postsurgical survival.
authors: Department of Pathology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. adriana.handra-luca@avc.aphp.fr
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Handra-Luca
authors: S-M
authors: SM
authors: Hong
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Walter
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Wolfgang
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Hruban
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Goggins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010180:Pancreatectomy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D014746:Vimentin