Expression and role of Delta-like 4 in pancreatic cancer / 中华胰腺病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the expression of Delta-like 4 (DLL4) in pancreatic cancer and its clinical significance.Methods The expression of DLL4 in pancreatic cancer was examined by immunohistochemistry method.The microvessel density (MVD) was calculated after CD34 staining specifically for microvessel endothelium; and their correlations and relationship between them and clinicopathological parameters as well as prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma was investigated.Results The expression of DLL4 in pancreatic cancer was significantly higher than that in normal pancreatic tissue (68.3％ vs 20％,P ＜ 0.01).The over-expression of DLL4 in pancreatic cancer was related to degree of differentiation,TNM staging,lymph node metastasis and invasion depth,while not related to the size,location and histological types.The MVD in pancreatic cancer tissues was notably higher than that in normal tissues (34.9 ± 13.2 vs 18.9 ± 2.2,P ＜0.01).MVD was correlated to degree of differentiation,lymph node metastasis,but not related to the size,location and histological types.DLL4 expression was closely associated with prognosis.COX model analysis showed that TNM staging and DLL4 expression were independent prognostic factors for pancreatic cancer.Conclusions The over-expressions of DLL4 may play an important role in metastasis and invasion of pancreatic cancer.Expression of DLL4 and TNM staging is useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer.