title: Reduced expression of Raf kinase inhibitor protein correlates with poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) is an inhibitor of the Raf/MEK/MAP kinase signaling cascade and a suppressor of cancer metastasis. But its function in pancreatic cancer was not yet clarified completely. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of RKIP in pancreatic cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  RKIP expression was investigated retrospectively by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded primary tumor tissue samples from a series (n = 99) of consecutive patients with pancreatic cancer. Survival was calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Parameters found to be of prognostic significance in univariate analysis were verified in a multivariate Cox regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RKIP expression was high in normal pancreatic epithelium and retained to varying degrees in pancreatic cancer tissues. However, in tumor tissues with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.008) and high UICC stage (P = 0.006), RKIP expression was highly significantly reduced or lost. Furthermore, the reduced expression of RKIP significantly correlated with both poor overall and disease-free survival (P = 0.008 and 0.01, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed RKIP to be an independent prognosticator.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that RKIP could be a promising marker for predicting a better prognosis in pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: National Hepatobiliary and Enteric Surgery Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Xiangya Road 87, Changsha, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Shi-peng
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Sheng-bin
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhe-hai
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong-sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhan-wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Qian-de
authors.initials: QD
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Yang-de
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D049488:Phosphatidylethanolamine Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D049488:Phosphatidylethanolamine Binding Protein