Galectin 4 is a biomarker for early recurrence and death after surgical resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: Galectins are a group of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are involved in neoplastic development and progression. In a previous mass spectrometry-based study, we identified galectin 4 as a down-regulated protein in short-term survivors of pancreatic cancer. This study was performed to validate the prognostic value of galectin 4 in a larger cohort of pancreatic cancer patients undergoing surgical resection. Methods: Galectin 4 expression was evaluated by tissue microarrays and immunohistochemistry in 140 patients with surgically resected pancreatic cancer. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards modeling were used to explore the association between galectin 4 and survival. Results: Galectin 4 staining expression was positive in 111 cases (79.3%). The expression of galectin 4 was significantly associated with tumor size (p ¼ .008) and differentiation (p ¼ .001). Galectin 4 expression was significantly correlated with disease recurrence within 1 year of surgery (adjusted HR 0.485, p ¼ .027). There was also a significant association between galectin 4 and overall survival at 1 year (adjusted HR 0.482, p ¼ .047) and at 3 years (adjusted HR 0.550, p ¼ .025). Conclusion: Galectin 4 expression is a novel biomarker for early recurrence and mortality after surgical resection for pancreatic cancer.

CSN6 expression is associated with pancreatic cancer progression and predicts poor prognosis

“…Patients with high CSN6 expression have a shorter OS and poorer prognosis. The present study also confirms that differentiation is an independent risk factor for PDAC, which agrees with the results of previous studies, [44][45][46] confirming the credibility of our results. In addition, high expression of CSN6 may be associated with tumor infiltration; however, unexpectedly, the N-stage and M-stage did not correlate with the expression of CSN6.…”

Silencing of keratin 17 by lentivirus‑mediated short hairpin RNA inhibits the proliferation of PANC‑1 human pancreatic cancer cells

“…Over recent years, the understanding of the causes of pancreatic cancer (PAC) has improved, but this has not improved the efficacy of treatment for patients with PAC (1). Surgical resection, which is effective in alleviating clinical symptoms and results in improved long-term survival, is only suitable for early pancreatic ductal carcinoma (2). Although postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy reduce metastatic development, no notable improvement in patient survival has been observed (3).…”

The Galectin Family as Molecular Targets: Hopes for Defeating Pancreatic Cancer

“…Moreover, tumors with lower Gal4 levels show a tendency to have increased vascular infiltration [49]. Importantly, Gal4 expression positively correlates with 1-and 3-year overall survival [90]. These data suggest that, in contrast to Gal1 and Gal3, Gal4 may play a tumor suppressor role in PDA.…”