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Expression and Significance of nm23/NDPK in Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas

Objective To study the expression and clinic significance of nm23 gene (product of uncleoside ciphosphate kinase) in the pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues. MethodsSP immunohistochemical method was used to examine the expression of nm23/NDPK in 40 pancreatic adenocarcinoma and 14 normal pancreas tissues.ResultsTwentysix of 40(65%) pancreatic adenocarcinoma showed b immunoreactivity for NDP kinase, whereas 4 of 14 (28.5%) normal pancreatic tissues showed weak immunoreactivity. Significant difference was found between the two groups (P＜0.05). The nm23/NDPK expression levels in pancreatic adenocarcinoma of lower differentiation was higher than those in pancreatic adenocarcinoma of higher differentiation (10/11，90.9%; 2/8, 25%; P＜0.05). Positive staining was associated with higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (10/14, 71.4%) than negative staining (6/19,31.5%, P＜0.05). These results suggested that nm23/NDPK expression was positively associated with lymph node metastasis and aggressiveness. They also suggested that nm23/NDPK expression had negative correlation with the extent of histologic differentiation. Conclusion nm23/NDPK can serve as a marker for malignant potentiality and indicate the prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.