GLUT-1 Expression as an Independent Predictor of Outcome in Patients with R1 Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

At present, there is no way to definitely know whether microscopic residual tumors (R1 disease) are present following pancreatectomy performed for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Therefore, we investigated whether the expression of the glucose transporter-1 protein (GLUT-1) could be used as a prognostic indicator for R1 PDAC. We retrospectively examined the association between overall survival (OS), clinicopathological factors, and GLUT-1 expression in 68 patients with resectable PDAC (total PDAC group) and in a subset of 28 patients with R1 disease (R1 PDAC group). The presence of R1 disease significantly influenced the OS rates of patients in the total PDAC group, but GLUT-1 expression did not. However, the median OS time was significantly shorter for GLUT-1-positive patients in the R1 PDAC group. GLUT-1 expression was found to be an independent predictor of decreased survival time (P=0.020). We propose that GLUT-1 expression testing will facilitate development of treatment plans for R1 PDAC patients.