Nectin expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: nectin-3 is associated with a poor prognosis

• Published in: Surgery today (Tokyo, Japan) Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 487 - 494
• Main Authors: Izumi, Hideki, Hirabayashi, Kenichi, Nakamura, Naoya, Nakagohri, Toshio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.04.2015
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - genetics; Adenocarcinoma - mortality; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cadherins - metabolism; Cell Adhesion Molecules - genetics; Cell Adhesion Molecules - metabolism; Female; Gene Expression - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - genetics; Genetic Association Studies; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Nectins; Neoplasm Invasiveness - genetics; Neoplasm Metastasis - genetics; Original; Original Article; Pancreatic Neoplasms - genetics; Pancreatic Neoplasms - mortality; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology; Prognosis; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; Surgery; Surgical Oncology; Survival Rate; Pancreatic adenocarcinoma; Prognosis; E-cadherin; Nectins; Cell adhesion molecules
• ISSN: 0941-1291; 1436-2813
• DOI: 10.1007/s00595-015-1126-2

Purpose Nectins are cell adhesion molecules that regulate the formation of adherens junctions and are linked with E-cadherin-based cell–cell adherens junctions. In pancreatic cancer, the expression of E-cadherin and nectins is considered to be related to metastasis, invasion and prognosis. Methods We evaluated the distribution of cells that were positive for nectin subtypes and E-cadherin using immunohistochemistry in specimens of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and correlated these results with the clinicopathological features and patient outcomes. Results The immunohistochemical distribution of nectin-1 and E-cadherin showed a good correlation ( r  = 0.523, p  < 0.01). Tumors over 4 cm in diameter had more intense staining for nectin-4 than smaller tumors ( p  = 0.035). Nectin-2 expression correlated with a poorer histological grade ( p  = 0.04). The cases that showed diffuse nectin-3 expression had a better prognosis than those with negative expression ( p  = 0.018). Conclusion Our results showed that the expression of nectin-3 in pancreatic cancer can be a prognostic factor.