S. Takao et al., EXPRESSION OF THYMIDINE PHOSPHORYLASE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A POOR-PROGNOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE PANCREAS, Clinical cancer research, 4(7), 1998, pp. 1619-1624
Thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) is identical to platelet-derived en
dothelial cell growth factor and has angiogenic activity. In this stud
y, we investigated the expression of dThdPase in ductal adenocarcinoma
of the pancreas and examined the correlation between dThdPase express
ion and clinicopathological factors and clinical outcome. dThdPase exp
ression was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry in the cytoplasm of t
umor cells in 59% of the 54 patients studied. The expression of dThdPa
se correlated significantly with a poor prognosis (P = 0.013), Signifi
cant correlations were also observed between dThdPase expression and e
xtrapancreatic neural plexus invasion and the presence of postoperativ
e hepatic metastases (P = 0.05 and 0.03, respectively). The average mi
crovessel count in dThdPase-positive tumors was significantly higher t
han that in dThdPase-negative tumors (P < 0,0001). These findings sugg
est that dThdPase expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma enhances the
abilities of tumor invasion and/or metastasis through its angiogenic
properties.