title: Mesothelin expression in pancreatic mucinous cysts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mesothelin (MSLN) is a differentiation antigen found to be overexpressed in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and is a potential treatment target in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  From institutional archives, 114 cases of resected pancreatic mucinous cysts were identified, including IPMN and mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN). Immunohistochemical analysis of MSLN was performed on representative sections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MSLN was seen more frequently in neoplastic epithelial cells from IPMN (39/52; P < .0005) and MCN (9/14; P < .0001) compared with unremarkable adjacent pancreatic and bile ducts (0/57) and benign foveolar and duodenal epithelium (0/21). When present, MSLN was diffusely expressed in neoplastic epithelium and only focally expressed in adjacent ducts (8/57). No significant difference was seen (P = .26) in MLSN expression between IPMN (79%) and MCN (83%) when only presence or absence was considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that MLSN can be used as a marker of neoplastic transformation of epithelial cells in pancreatic mucinous cysts. The findings can help identify neoplastic mucinous epithelium.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and.
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
authors.forename: Shaoying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and.
authors.forename: Nuzhat A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and.
authors.forename: Antonia R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sepulveda
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and jhalan@uphs.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Nirag C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Jhala
mesh_terms: D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000090204:Mesothelin; D008875:Middle Aged; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010181:Pancreatic Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D058851:GPI-Linked Proteins; C000715527:MSLN protein, human; D000090204:Mesothelin
keywords: Mesothelin; Mucinous cysts; Pancreas