Prognostic Evaluation of Vimentin Expression in Correlation with Ki67 and CD44 in Surgically Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Purpose. Radical surgical resection with adjuvant chemotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy is the most effective treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, relatively few studies investigate the prognostic significance of biological markers in PDAC. This study aims to look into the expressions of vimentin, Ki67, and CD44 in PDAC surgical specimens and their potential prognostic implications in survival. Method. The study was designed as retrospective, and vimentin, Ki67, and CD44 expressions were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 53 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cases. Overall survival was assessed by the Kaplan–Meier method. Results. Patients' median age was 68 years. The median survival was 18 months. The tumors were T3-4 in 40/53 (75.5%), and metastases in lymph nodes were found in 42 out of 53 (79.2%) cases. On multivariate analysis, the size of primary tumor (p < 0.001), the surgical resection margin status (p = 0.042), and vimentin expression (p = 0.011) were independently correlated with overall survival. Conclusions. Long-term survival after resection of PDAC is still about 15%. Vimentin expression is a potential independent adverse prognostic molecular marker and should be included in histopathological reports. Also, CD44 expression correlates with high Ki67, vimentin positivity, and N stage and may represent a potential target of novel therapeutic modalities in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients.

Prognostic significance of stem cell/ epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in periampullary/pancreatic cancers: FGFR1 is a promising prognostic marker

“…However, the loss of Ecadherin is usually exclusively found in metastatic lesions and the vimentin is well known for non-specific, frequent coexpression in pancreatic cancers. Therefore, the feasibility as a prognostic marker seems to be limited although a few studies have suggested these as potential prognostic markers [22]. On the other hand, the EMT marker VEGF shares similar structural morphology with FGFRs, and both are very important for angiogenesis [9].…”

Morphologic and Molecular Landscape of Pancreatic Cancer Variants as the Basis of New Therapeutic Strategies for Precision Oncology

“…Conversely to E-cadherin, a positive correlation between UDC and vimentin and zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) is observed by IHC [ 94 , 95 ]. Indeed, vimentin is a marker of mesenchymal features, while ZEB1 represents a transcriptional repressor of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induction [ 96 , 97 ]. Since E-cadherin deficiency and vimentin/ZEB1 upregulation are associated with EMT mechanisms, it is not surprising that UDC is a particularly aggressive variant [ 98 ].…”

The role of long noncoding RNA AL161431.1 in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer

“…Vimentin has been reported as the main intermediate lament protein of normal mesenchymal tissue [20], with a major role of sustaining cellular integrity [21]. Furthermore, vimentin expression was a potential independent adverse prognostic molecular marker in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [22]. Our nding of increased E-cadherin accompanied by decreased N-cadherin and vimentin in lncRNA AL161431.1 knockdown pancreatic cell lines clearly indicated that lncRNA AL161431.1 is critical in the EMT pathway.…”