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Overexpression of folate receptor alpha is an independent prognostic factor for outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients
Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis; hence, novel prognostic markers and effective therapeutic targets should be identified. We aimed to evaluate folate receptor alpha (FR-α) expression in pancreatic cancer and examine its association with clinicopathological features. We utilized tissue samples...
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Published in: | Medical molecular morphology 2018-12, Vol.51 (4), p.237-243 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis; hence, novel prognostic markers and effective therapeutic targets should be identified. We aimed to evaluate folate receptor alpha (FR-α) expression in pancreatic cancer and examine its association with clinicopathological features. We utilized tissue samples from 100 primary pancreatic cancer patients who underwent surgery. FR-α was expressed in 37 of 100 cases (37%). The FR-α-positive group (median, 18.8 months) had a significantly poorer prognosis than the FR-α-negative group [median 21.3 months; HR 1.89 (1.12–3.12);
P
= 0.017]. These groups were not significantly different regarding progression-free survival (
P
= 0.196). Furthermore, other serum tumor markers including CA19-9 (mean, 186 vs. 822 U/ml;
P
= 0.001), Dupan-2 (286 vs. 1133 U/ml;
P
= 0.000), and Span-1 (69.7 vs. 171.9 U/ml;
P
= 0.006) were significantly downregulated in the FR-α-positive group. CA19-9 was another prognostic factor, in addition to FR-α, and patient prognosis showed clear stratification curves with the expression of these two molecules. Along with CA19-9, FR-α expression was an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival. FR-α and CA19-9 helped predict patient prognosis based on stratification curves. |
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ISSN: | 1860-1480 1860-1499 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00795-018-0197-8 |