1997 Volume 58 Issue 8 Pages 1733-1739
The utility of DNA analysis and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) for estimating prognosis of advanced pancreatic cancer was examined with formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections of tumors from 24 patients with pancreatic cancer (stage IV). The histopathological findings, stage and curability had no relationship to DNA ploidy pattern, S-phase fraction and PCNA score. Single variant analysis revealed the followings: 1) There were significant differences in cumulative survival rates between stage IVa and stage IVb, and between curability B and curability C. 2) The DNA ploidy pattern was not a significant prognostic factor, but all of the 3 patients who survived more than 800 days had diploid tumors. 3) The PCNA score was not a significant prognostic factor, but all of the 5 patients who survived more than 500 days had tumors with less than 25%. Cox's multivariate analysis revealed that the PCNA score was the most important prognostic factor (p<0.05). These results suggest that the PCNA score reflects proliferative activity and is useful as a prognostic index of advanced pancreatic cancer (stage IV).
