TY - JOUR
T1 - Immunohistochemical analysis of a panel of cancer stem cell markers and potential therapeutic markers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
AU - Ali, S. M.Adnan
AU - Adnan, Yumna
AU - Ali, Saleema Mehboob
AU - Ahmad, Zubair
AU - Chawla, Tabish
AU - Farooqui, Hasnain Ahmed
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was funded by University Research Council (Grant ID: 183027SUR), Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Purpose: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic malignancies. It is known for its aggressive nature and high mortality rate. This calls for an urgent need of new prognostic and therapeutic markers that can be targeted for personalized treatment of the patient. Methods: Among 142 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancers at Aga Khan University Hospital, a total of 62 patients were selected based on their confirmed diagnosis of PDAC. Immunohistochemistry was performed on Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) sections using selected antibodies (CD44, CD133, L1CAM, HER2, PD-L1, EGFR, COX2 and cyclin D1). All the slides were scored independently by two pathologists as per the set criteria. Results: Expression of all cancer stem cell markers was found to be significantly associated with one or more potential therapeutic markers. CD44 expression was significantly associated with HER2 (p = 0.032), COX2 (p = 0.005) and EGFR expression (p = 0.008). CD133 expression also showed significant association with HER2 (p = 0.036), COX2 (p = 0.004) and EGFR expression (p = 0.018). L1CAM expression was found to be associated with expression of COX2 (p = 0.017). None of the proteins markers showed association with overall survival of the patient. On the other hand, among the clinicopathological characteristics, histological differentiation (p = 0.047), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.021) and perineural invasion (p = 0.014) were found to be significantly associated with patient’s overall survival. Conclusion: Internationally, this is the first report that assesses the selected panel of cancer stem cell markers and potential therapeutic targets in a single study and evaluates its combined expression. The study clearly demonstrates association between expression of cancer stem cell markers and therapeutic targets hence paves a way for precision medicine for pancreatic cancer patients.
AB - Purpose: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic malignancies. It is known for its aggressive nature and high mortality rate. This calls for an urgent need of new prognostic and therapeutic markers that can be targeted for personalized treatment of the patient. Methods: Among 142 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancers at Aga Khan University Hospital, a total of 62 patients were selected based on their confirmed diagnosis of PDAC. Immunohistochemistry was performed on Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) sections using selected antibodies (CD44, CD133, L1CAM, HER2, PD-L1, EGFR, COX2 and cyclin D1). All the slides were scored independently by two pathologists as per the set criteria. Results: Expression of all cancer stem cell markers was found to be significantly associated with one or more potential therapeutic markers. CD44 expression was significantly associated with HER2 (p = 0.032), COX2 (p = 0.005) and EGFR expression (p = 0.008). CD133 expression also showed significant association with HER2 (p = 0.036), COX2 (p = 0.004) and EGFR expression (p = 0.018). L1CAM expression was found to be associated with expression of COX2 (p = 0.017). None of the proteins markers showed association with overall survival of the patient. On the other hand, among the clinicopathological characteristics, histological differentiation (p = 0.047), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.021) and perineural invasion (p = 0.014) were found to be significantly associated with patient’s overall survival. Conclusion: Internationally, this is the first report that assesses the selected panel of cancer stem cell markers and potential therapeutic targets in a single study and evaluates its combined expression. The study clearly demonstrates association between expression of cancer stem cell markers and therapeutic targets hence paves a way for precision medicine for pancreatic cancer patients.
KW - Cancer stem cell markers
KW - Immunohistochemistry
KW - Pakistan
KW - Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
KW - Targeted therapies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137807658&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00432-022-04315-4
DO - 10.1007/s00432-022-04315-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 36066622
AN - SCOPUS:85137807658
SN - 0171-5216
VL - 149
SP - 2279
EP - 2292
JO - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
IS - 6
ER -
