PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002438
Andrew Turunen, Sushil Kumar Garg
{"title":"Surgical Trends in Chronic Pancreatitis From 2014 to 2021.","authors":"Andrew Turunen, Sushil Kumar Garg","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002438","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002438","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>We analyzed annual surgical trends for benign chronic pancreatitis (CP), studying specifically mortality, morbidity, and pancreatic fistula rates. We also aimed to identify predictors of pancreatic fistula formation.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>For this analysis, we used data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2014 to 2021. The study included patients who underwent surgery for benign CP. Data collected included patient demographics, preoperative variables, and postoperative outcomes. Data were analyzed with univariate and multivariate analyses, with significance defined as P ≤ 0.05.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over the study period, the number of pancreatic surgical procedures increased by 49.3%, although surgery specifically for CP declined by 31.7%. The rate of pancreatic fistula formation decreased 44.9%, and mortality decreased 31.9%. Significant predictors of a pancreatic fistula included no diabetes, preoperative sepsis, soft texture of the pancreatic gland, and greater patient weight.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Surgery for benign CP decreased substantially despite the established efficacy of surgical intervention for long-term pain management. The concurrent decline in mortality and rates of pancreatic fistula formation suggest advances over the study years in surgical and postoperative care.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e310-e316"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142731264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Molecular Alterations Influencing the Prognostic Outcome in Small Pancreatic Cancer (≤2 cm).","authors":"Toru Takematsu, Hiromitsu Hayashi, Daisuke Ogawa, Yosuke Nakao, Takanobu Yamao, Yuki Kitano, Shigeki Nakagawa, Kosuke Mima, Yoshifumi Baba, Hideo Baba","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002430","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/MPA.0000000000002430","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most lethal cancer. The prognosis of small PC (tumor ≤ 20 mm) is better than that of larger PC, indicating the importance of detecting early-stage PC for patient outcome. The aim of this study was to elucidate the molecular features in small PC (≤20 mm).</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This study included 79 PC tumors (≤20 mm in pathological examination) resected between 2004 and 2022. c-Myc, Caveolin-1, Smad4, and Thrombospondin-1 were examined by immunostaining. These molecular alterations were compared in PC patients with tumor size ≤ 10 mm (n = 11) (14%) and 10 mm < tumor size ≤ 20 mm (n = 68) (86%). Mutation analyses of KRAS, PIK3CA, and BRAF were performed by pyrosequencing in 22 PCs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>PC with 10 mm < tumor size ≤ 20 mm showed significantly worse overall survival and disease-free survival than PC with tumor size < 10 mm (P = 0.024 and P = 0.028). Tumor c-Myc and stromal Caveolin-1 expressions were significantly increased in tumors larger than 10 mm (P = 0.02 and P = 0.04). c-Myc and Caveolin-1 expressions were associated with poor disease-free survival and overall survival. KRAS, PIK3CA, and BRAF mutation status did not differ between the 2 groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Tumor c-Myc and stromal Caveolin-1 overexpressions were detected in tumors larger than 10 mm. Their overexpressions were associated with worse prognosis even in small PC. These molecular alterations in small PC may be a clue for the detection of early-stage PC.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":"54 4","pages":"e295-e302"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144038999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002431
Edward Zhou, Jung-In Yang, Amber N Habowski, Astrid Deschênes, Pascal Belleau, Taehoon Ha, Chris J Tzanavaris, Jeff Boyd, Christopher A Hollweg, Xinhua Zhu, David A Tuveson, Daniel A King
{"title":"GATA6 Amplification Is Associated With Improved Survival in TP53-Mutated Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer.","authors":"Edward Zhou, Jung-In Yang, Amber N Habowski, Astrid Deschênes, Pascal Belleau, Taehoon Ha, Chris J Tzanavaris, Jeff Boyd, Christopher A Hollweg, Xinhua Zhu, David A Tuveson, Daniel A King","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002431","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>GATA6 expression is recognized as a favorable prognostic marker of pancreatic cancer, whereas TP53 is a poor prognostic marker. We evaluated treatment outcomes by genetic alterations in TP53 and GATA6 to determine the prognostic and predictive impact of co-alterations.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A single institution retrospective analysis was performed on patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma between 2014 and 2023. TP53 genotype and GATA6 amplification status were included in an analysis of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Previously published patient-derived organoids were used to investigate correlation between genetic status and drug sensitivity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients with TP53 mutations had worse OS compared with the wild-type TP53 population. Patients with GATA6 amplification had better OS and a trend toward better PFS than the nonamplified population. Among patients with a TP53 mutation, patients with GATA6 co-alteration had longer OS compared with those who were not GATA6 amplified. In contrast, among patients who were TP53 wild-type, the presence or absence of a GATA6 amplification did not impact OS or PFS. GATA6 genotype was not associated chemotherapy drug response in an organoid pharmacotyping model.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found that GATA6 amplification appeared to attenuate poor prognosis observed in TP53-mutant patients regardless of the type of standard chemotherapy received, suggesting the GATA6 amplification is a prognostic biomarker but not a predictive biomarker of standard-of-care chemotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":"54 4","pages":"e303-e309"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12143463/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144024022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002435
Alice A Lee, Neha Antil, Ahmed El Kaffas, Walter G Park
{"title":"Assessing the Feasibility of Handheld Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Pancreas Visualization: A Pilot Study.","authors":"Alice A Lee, Neha Antil, Ahmed El Kaffas, Walter G Park","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002435","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002435","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e382-e383"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002436
Xiaozhi Lu, Yuran Dai, Xinchun Liu, Lei Jiang, Kai Zhang, Junli Wu, Wentao Gao, Kuirong Jiang, Cuncai Dai, Yi Miao, Mingna Li, Jishu Wei
{"title":"Differences in the Clinicopathologic and Radiological Characteristics of Patients With Microcystic and Macrocystic Serous Cystadenoma of the Pancreas.","authors":"Xiaozhi Lu, Yuran Dai, Xinchun Liu, Lei Jiang, Kai Zhang, Junli Wu, Wentao Gao, Kuirong Jiang, Cuncai Dai, Yi Miao, Mingna Li, Jishu Wei","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002436","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002436","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aims of the study were to elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics, imaging features, and surgical outcomes of patients with serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) and to compare the features between microcystic (MiC) and macrocystic (MaC) SCNs.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>In this single-center retrospective study, information of patients with SCN between 2016 and 2022 at our institution was collected and analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 105 patients with SCNs were identified, including 58 (55.2%) with MiC type and 47 (44.8%) with MaC type. Patient age and American Society of Anesthesiologists grade in the MiC group were significantly higher than those in the MaC group. The overall preoperative diagnostic accuracy was 7.6%, with no patients in the MaC group correctly diagnosed before surgery. In imaging examinations, almost all (97.1%) exhibited a lobulated pattern. Internal septation, honeycomb pattern, central scar, and calcification were common, with a significantly higher incidence in the MiC group. No in-hospital deaths occurred, and the incidence of major complications were comparable in both groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although many patients presented with typical imaging features, accurate diagnosis of SCN remained difficult. Except for older age and higher American Society of Anesthesiologists grade in the MiC group, there were no significant differences in the clinicopathological characteristics between MiC and MaC SCN patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e317-e323"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12017593/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143503066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002445
Vybhav Venkatesh Gummadi, Tanja Gonska
{"title":"Serum Trypsin Is a Reliable Biomarker of Pancreas Function.","authors":"Vybhav Venkatesh Gummadi, Tanja Gonska","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002445","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002445","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Pancreatic diseases pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges necessitating robust biomarkers for accurate diagnosis, management, and monitoring of pancreas function.Pancreas function can be measured with direct (invasive) and indirect tests. However, neither approach allows for continuous disease monitoring to identify disease progression or therapeutic response. We demonstrate literature evidence suggesting that trypsin, an important pancreatic digestive enzyme, holds promise as a continuous biomarker. On one hand, assessment of trypsin concentration in the serum sensitively and specifically detects pancreas inflammation; whereas on the other hand, declining trypsin levels in serum show good correlation with direct pancreatic function tests to identify exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. With this comprehensive review, we aimed to evaluate the existing evidence on the utility of trypsin as a continuous biomarker, spanning from acute to chronic pancreatitis and pancreas function, highlighting its potential in monitoring disease evolution on an individual patient level.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e360-e368"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Supportive Effect of Koujin (TJ-3020) Powder in Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel-Treated Unresectable or Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer.","authors":"Tomohisa Otsu, Hideki Takami, Suguru Yamada, Masahiro Nakatochi, Keizo Fujita, Mitsuru Tashiro, Masamichi Hayashi, Nobuhiko Nakagawa, Keisuke Kurimoto, Haruyoshi Tanaka, Fumie Kinoshita, Yachiyo Kuwatsuka, Yasuhiro Kodera","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002446","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002446","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel combination therapy (GnP) is a standard treatment for unresectable or recurrent pancreatic cancer. However, fatigue and malaise are frequent adverse effects. Recently, Kampo medicine containing ginsenoside has been reported to relieve cancer-related fatigue. Therefore, in this randomized trial, we used red ginseng powder (Koujin, TJ-3020), which contains ginsenoside, to evaluate its effect on unresectable or recurrent pancreatic cancer treatment.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>From December 2017 to December 2020, we enrolled 40 pancreatic cancer patients. The patients underwent 2 cycles of GnP for unresectable cancer or postoperative recurrence. The patients were randomized into group A (red ginseng powder administration) or group B (no red ginseng). In group A, 0.67 g of red ginseng powder was taken orally 3 times a day before each meal for 56 days of the planned chemotherapy period. The Cancer Fatigue Scale evaluated physical, mental, cognitive, and comprehensive fatigue over time.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The patients' backgrounds, including age, sex, pancreatic cancer status, and relative dose intensity of the GnP chemotherapy, did not differ between groups A and B. Cases with abnormal CA19-9 were frequently assigned to group A. None of the Cancer Fatigue Scale fatigue scores differed significantly between the groups. Mental fatigue score was significantly higher in patients aged ≥70 years (odds ratio: 4.57; P = 0.033), and recurrent pancreatic cancer status tended to influence all fatigue scores. However, no other critical factor significantly affected each score.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this phase II randomized trial, oral administration of red ginseng powder at 2.0 g per day did not reduce pancreatic cancer patients' fatigue or malaise induced by GnP combination chemotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e353-e359"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PancreasPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1097/MPA.0000000000002443
Rasmus Hagn-Meincke, Srdan Novovic, Amer Hadi, Annette B Jensen, Asbjørn M Drewes, Henrik Krarup, Jens B Frøkjær, Walter G Park, Peter L Jørgensen, Holger Jon Møller, Bent W Deleuran, Søren S Olesen
{"title":"Circulating Biomarkers of Macrophage Activation in Different Stages of Chronic Pancreatitis: A Pilot Study.","authors":"Rasmus Hagn-Meincke, Srdan Novovic, Amer Hadi, Annette B Jensen, Asbjørn M Drewes, Henrik Krarup, Jens B Frøkjær, Walter G Park, Peter L Jørgensen, Holger Jon Møller, Bent W Deleuran, Søren S Olesen","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002443","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002443","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Activation of type M2 macrophages has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis (CP). In a clinical pilot study, we investigated blood-based markers of macrophage activation at different stages of CP.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>We performed a cross-sectional analysis of prospectively collected plasma samples from healthy controls and patients with suspected or definitive CP according to the M-ANNHEIM criteria. Plasma concentrations of soluble CD163 (sCD163), soluble CD206 (sCD206), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Group and pairwise comparisons of analytes were performed using regression models and area under the receiver operating curves (AUC-ROC).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 73 subjects with CP (28 suspected CP and 45 definitive CP) and 40 controls were included. Compared to controls, the median plasma concentrations of sCD163 ( P = 0.019) and sCD206 ( P = 0.033) were elevated in patients with definitive CP. sCD206 was also elevated in patients with definitive CP ( P = 0.042) compared to suspected CP. ROC analysis revealed the optimal sCD163 cutpoint to distinguish definitive CP from controls was 1.84 mg/mL (AUC-ROC 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-0.77). The optimal sCD206 cutpoint to distinguish definitive CP from controls was 0.24 mg/mL (AUC-ROC 0.66; 95% CI, 0.54-0.78). MCP-1 concentrations showed no differences across subgroups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study demonstrates that subjects with definitive CP, sampled during a clinically quiescent phase, exhibited increased levels of sCD163 and sCD206. This indicates the presence of activated M2 macrophages in patients with CP at advanced, but not early, clinical stages.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e331-e339"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tumor Budding Is an Independent Adverse Prognostic Factor of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients Treated by Resection After Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy.","authors":"Aoi Hayasaki, Shugo Mizuno, Miki Usui, Benson Kaluba, Haruna Komatsubara, Tatsuya Sakamoto, Koki Maeda, Toru Shinkai, Daisuke Noguchi, Takahiro Ito, Kazuyuki Gyoten, Yusuke Iizawa, Takehiro Fujii, Akihiro Tanemura, Yasuhiro Murata, Naohisa Kuriyama, Masatoshi Watanabe, Katsunori Uchida, Masashi Kishiwada","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002440","DOIUrl":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002440","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To examine the significance of tumor budding as a prognostic factor of resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) specimens after preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT).</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Among 162 PDAC patients who underwent pancreatectomy after gemcitabine and S1-based CRT from 2012 to 2019, 131 were evaluated for tumor budding. Tumor buds were counted at the invasive front, where the degree of budding was the greatest (hematoxylin and eosin staining, ×20 magnification). Overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared between the patients without tumor budding (non-TB group) and those with tumor buddings (TB group). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis was conducted to examine the significance of tumor budding as a prognostic factor.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>OS, DSS, and RFS (median survival time) of the non-TB group were significantly longer than those of the TB group (OS: 50.7 vs 27.5 months, P = 0.014; DSS: 63.3 vs 33.0 months, P = 0.014; RFS: 20.3 vs 11.3 months, P = 0.028). Multivariate analysis identified adjuvant chemotherapy ( P = 0.003) as a favorable prognostic factor of OS and tumor budding ( P = 0.023) as an adverse prognostic factor of DSS.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study revealed that the presence of tumor budding was an independent adverse prognostic factor in PDAC patients resected after gemcitabine and S1-based CRT.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":" ","pages":"e340-e348"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142771180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Clinicopathological Relevance of SMAD4 and RUNX3 in Patients With Resected Pancreatic Cancer.","authors":"Katsuya Hirose, Yuko Omori, Ryota Higuchi, Masakazu Yamamoto, Toru Furukawa","doi":"10.1097/MPA.0000000000002429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/MPA.0000000000002429","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a major clinical challenge, owing to its poor prognosis. Understanding the underlying molecular interactions may be crucial in determining PDAC intractability. We elucidated the combinatory role of SMAD family member 4 (SMAD4) and runt-related transcription factor 3 (RUNX3) in PDAC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues were obtained from 101 patients who underwent surgical resection of PDAC. SMAD4 and RUNX3 expression in the tissues was evaluated using immunohistochemistry. SMAD4 and KRAS mutations were evaluated using Sanger sequencing. SMAD4 copy number variations were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. These molecular characteristics were compared with patients' clinicopathological features.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Retained SMAD4 expression in PDAC tissues was associated with higher tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) stage, and metastatic recurrence. Defective RUNX3 expression was associated with higher TNM stages. Further analysis to determine significance of retained SMAD4 indicated that all these cases had defective RUNX3 expression; therefore, the combined expression status of retained SMAD4 and defective RUNX3 expression in tissues was determined to be associated with higher TNM stage and metastatic recurrence than defective SMAD4 expression with defective or retained RUNX3 expression. Survival analysis showed that patients with tumors with retained SMAD4 and defective RUNX3 expression had relatively worse overall survival rates. KRAS mutations were not associated with SMAD4/RUNX3 expression or overall survival.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite inherent limitations of this retrospective study and small sample size, our findings highlight the potential combined role of SMAD4 and RUNX3 in node metastasis and metastatic recurrence in patients with resected PDAC.</p>","PeriodicalId":19733,"journal":{"name":"Pancreas","volume":"54 4","pages":"e287-e294"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144023817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}