Cytoplasmic expression of laminin γ2 chain correlates with postoperative hepatic metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

BACKGROUND The laminin γ2 chain is involved in tumor invasion and metastasis, but the significance of laminin γ2 chain expression remains unclear in patients with pancreatic carcinoma. METHODS Laminin γ2 chain expression was examined immunohistochemically in 48 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who were followed closely to elucidate the correlations between clinicopathologic factors, postoperative recurrence, and overall survival. Prognostic factors for postoperative survival were examined comparing clinicopathologic factors and laminin γ2 chain expression. RESULTS Two different staining patterns of laminin γ2 chain expression, cytoplasmic expression and basement membrane expression, were detected in tumors from all 48 patients. Tumors were then classified into two types according to the dominant pattern of laminin γ2 chain expression: the cytoplasmic expression dominant type (CYT; n = 26 patients) and the basement membrane expression dominant type (BM; n = 22 patients). Tumor differentiation was associated statistically with the BM type of laminin γ2 chain expression (P = 0.0002). The CYT type of laminin γ2 chain expression was associated significantly with the occurrence of postoperative hepatic metastasis (P = 0.0011) and also was the strongest predictive factor for poorer overall survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (P = 0.0161). CONCLUSIONS The cytoplasmic expression of the laminin γ2 chain represents the high invasive potential of the tumor and is correlated with distant metastasis, especially hepatic metastasis, and with a poorer prognosis in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer 2002;94:1894–901. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10395