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. 2002;2(5):491-4.
doi: 10.1159/000064719.

Resection of pancreatic cancer normalizes the preoperative increase of tumor necrosis factor alpha gene expression

Parisa Ariapart  1 , Susanne Bergstedt-Lindqvist, Vanessa van Harmelen, Johan Permert, Feng Wang, Inger Lundkvist
Affiliations

Resection of pancreatic cancer normalizes the preoperative increase of tumor necrosis factor alpha gene expression

Parisa Ariapart et al. Pancreatology. 2002.

Abstract

Background: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) appears to play a role in the cachexia and diabetes seen in patients with cancers. However, increased TNF-alpha is seen in some, but not all, of the cancer patients.

Methods: The mRNA transcripts of TNF-alpha and its receptors (TNF-RI and TNF-RII) were quantified in blood cells of pancreatic cancer patients, using competitive quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Plasma TNF-alpha was also quantified in these patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Control blood came from healthy subjects.

Results: The TNF-alpha mRNA transcripts (per microgram of total RNA) were increased in pancreatic cancer patients (6.8 +/- 2.1 x 10(6), n = 10), compared to control (1.2 +/- 0.2 x 10(6), n = 9, p < 0.05). After the tumour was removed, the TNF-alpha mRNA transcripts were reduced to a level (2.1 +/- 0.8 x 10(6)) similar to the control. In the cancer patients, no significant changes were found in TNF-RI and TNF-RII gene transcription, compared to the controls.

Conclusion: The expression of the TNF-alpha gene is upregulated in patients with pancreatic cancer and normalized after the pancreatic tumor is removed. These results are consistent with the concept that TNF-alpha is involved in metabolic disorders associated with pancreatic cancer.

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