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. 2006 Jan 21;12(3):437-42.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i3.437.

Differential c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 mRNA expression in cancer of the pancreas compared with cancer of the papilla of Vater

Klaus L Prenzel  1 , Ute Warnecke-Eberz, Jan Brabender, Stephan E Baldus, Elfriede Bollschweiler, Christian A Gutschow, Uta Drebber, Arnulf H Hoelscher, Paul M Schneider
Affiliations

Differential c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 mRNA expression in cancer of the pancreas compared with cancer of the papilla of Vater

Klaus L Prenzel et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: We examined quantitative mRNA expression of growth factor receptors (c-erbB-1, c-erbB-2) and the anti-apoptosis gene survivin known to be regulated in pancreatic adenocarcinomas and compared the expression pattern with that in carcinomas of the papilla of Vater.

Methods: Quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR (QRT-PCR, Taqman) was performed to analyze mRNA expression levels of c-erbB-1, c-erbB-2 and survivin in normal and corresponding tumor samples of 31 pancreatic adenocarcinomas and 8 cancers of the papilla of Vater.

Results: The overall median mRNA expression of survivin was significantly increased in both adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (P<0.01) and papilla of Vater (P<0.008) compared with uninvolved normal control tissue. In pancreatic cancer, expression of c-erbB-1 was significantly decreased compared with the normal pancreatic tissue (P<0.03), whereas in the cancer of the papilla of Vater expression of c-erbB-2 was significantly downregulated (P<0.05) compared with the paired normal samples. Gene expression was not associated with tumor stage, differentiation or prognosis.

Conclusion: The common anti-apoptosis gene survivin is overexpressed both in the cancer of the papilla of Vater and pancreas. In contrast, the growth factor receptor genes c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 are differentially regulated in both tumor entities adding further evidence that pancreatic cancer is biologically different from the cancer of papilla of Vater.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Expression of survivin in PC (n = 31) and CPV (n = 8).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier analysis of survival of patients with pancreatic cancer (n = 31) and CPV (n = 8) after resection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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