Midkine mRNA is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer

Seiji Ohhashi, Kenoki Ohuchida, Kazuhiro Mizumoto, Takuya Egami, Jun Yu, Lin Cui, Hiroki Toma, Shunichi Takahata, Toshinaga Nabae, Masao Tanaka

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose Midkine (MK) has been reported to be a possible molecular marker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. We investigated the feasibility of quantitative analysis of MK mRNA by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) as a promising tool for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Results We found that pancreatic cancer tissues expressed significantly higher levels of MK mRNA than intraductal pancreatic mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues (P < 0.05); in contrast, we did not find any differences in MK mRNA expression between IPMN and non-neoplastic pancreatic tissues. Additionally, we observed that poorly differentiated carcinoma samples expressed higher levels of MK mRNA than well-differentiated carcinoma samples, although a significant difference was not observed. Conclusions The present data suggests that quantitative analysis of MK mRNA provides an objective and sensitive evaluation and may be a promising modality for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the prediction of its prognosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)811-815
Number of pages5
JournalDigestive diseases and sciences
Volume54
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Midkine
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Quantitative real-time RT-PCR

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Gastroenterology

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