Objective: To study the expression of ER mRNA, presenilin 2 (PS2) and their relationship and clinicopathological significance in the pancreatic carcinoma.
Methods: The assay of ER mRNA was detected by in situ hybridization technique and the expression of PS2 was completed by immunohistochemical method of avidin-biotin complex in the 10% neutral formalin-fixed and routinely paraffin-embedded sections of specimen with pancreatic carcinoma.
Results: The positive rate and the score of PS2 were 45.7% and 1.82 +/- 1.34, also those of ER mRNA were 51.4% and 2.08 +/- 1.46 in 35 patients with pancreatic carcinoma. The highly positive correlations were found among the positive rate and the score of ER mRNA and PS2. The positive rate and the score were significantly higher in the cases of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma without metastasis than those in the ones of middle- or poorly-differentiated adenocarcinoma with metastasis.
Conclusion: The expression of ER mRNA or PS2 might reflect the biological behaviors and hormone-dependent status of pancreatic carcinoma. The assay of ER mRNA and meanwhile the detection of PS2 might have important clinical values for better understanding sex-hormone dependence and raising the therapeutic effect of clinical endocrine therapy of the pancreatic carcinoma.