Prognostic significance of tumorigenic cells with mesenchymal features in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Specific populations of highly tumorigenic cells are thought to exist in many human tumors, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the clinical significance of these tumor-initiating (ie, cancer stem) cells remains unclear. Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity can identify tumor-initiating cells and normal stem cells from several human tissues. We examined the prognostic significance and functional features of ALDH expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Methods

ALDH expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 269 primary surgical specimens of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and examined for association with clinical outcomes and in paired primary tumors and metastatic lesions from eight pancreatic cancer patients who had participated in a rapid autopsy

SUBMITTER: Rasheed ZA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2831049 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature