Expression of PTEN and KAI1 tumor suppressor genes in pancreatic carcinoma and its association with different pathological factors

Pancreatic carcinoma is a common cancer type with a poor prognosis. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of tumor suppressor genes phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted in chromosome 10 (PTEN) and KAI1 in pancreatic carcinoma and its association with clinical pathological factors. A total of 50 hospitalized cases of pancreatic cancer including 28 males and 22 females aged 31-82 years were included in the present study. Ten cases of normal pancreatic tissue were obtained from cadavers and served as the controls. The pancreatic specimens were embedded in paraffin blocks and slides were prepared for immunohistochemical analysis to determine the expression of PTEN and KAI1 in normal pancreatic tissue and pancreatic carcinoma samples. The positive expression rate of PTEN in the normal pancreatic tissue was higher than that in pancreatic carcinoma (P<0.05), while the positive expression rate of KAI1 in the normal pancreatic tissue was lower than that in pancreatic carcinoma (P<0.05). Pathological factors such as clinical stage of disease, histological grade and the presence or absence of lymphatic metastasis significantly affected the expression of PTEN and KAI1 (P<0.05). In conclusion, the positive expression of PTEN and KAI1 in pancreatic carcinoma is closely associated with the development of pancreatic carcinoma.