title: Biological identification of ampullary adenocarcinomas.
abstract: Ampullary adenocarcinomas have unique biologic and clinical features that result in its improved prognosis versus adenocarcinomas that arise from the distal bile ducts and pancreas. However the histological differentiation and identification of these tumors is not easily accomplished. Two abstracts at this year's ASCO Annual Meeting describe attempts to identify unique methods for distinguishing these tumors. Abstract #4141 described a 92 gene RT-PCR assay that was used for molecular classification of patients with ampullary adenocarcinomas while Abstract #e15175 looked at mutational status of K-ras in patients with these tumors. The results of their abstracts will be discussed.
authors: Division of Hematology/Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts Medical Center. Boston, MA, USA. vrelias1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.
authors: Valerie
authors: V
authors: Relias
authors: Muhammad Wasif
authors: MW
authors: Saif
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D014670:Ampulla of Vater; D003138:Common Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras); D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016019:Survival Analysis; D018631:ras Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C117307:KRAS protein, human; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras); D018631:ras Proteins