Browsing by Subject "Prognostic biomarkers"

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    Elevated tissue expression of RANKL and RANK is associated with poorer survival rates in pancreatic cancer patients
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2024) Ortega, Miguel A; Jiménez Álvarez, Laura; Fraile Martinez, Oscar; Garcia Montero, Cielo; Leon Oliva, Diego De; Toledo Lobo, M. Val; Palacios, Esther; Granado, Paula; Esteban, Alfonso; Guijarro, Luis G.; Pekarek, Leonel; Asúnsolo, Ángel; Buján, Julia; García Honduvilla, Natalio; Álvarez Mon, Melchor; Saez, Miguel A; Díaz Pedrero, Raúl; López González, Laura
    Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy with a growing incidence reported worldwide. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, which is often diagnosed at advanced stages, making its prognosis and medical management difficult. The identification of histopathological biomarkers has allowed a more precise stratification of pancreatic cancer patients, providing additional information about their prognosis and offering possible therapeutic targets to be explored. The prognostic value of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B (RANK) and its ligand (RANKL) has been evaluated in breast and prostate tumors, however, their usefulness has not been assessed in pancreatic cancer. In the present work, we analyzed the relationship between the protein expression of RANK and RANKL with the survival of 41 patients with pancreatic cancer followed for 60 months, by performing immunohisto-chemistry and Kaplan-Meier curves. Our results demonstrate a direct association of high expression levels of RANK and RANKL with poorer survival of pancreatic cancer patients in comparison to those with low/medium and null expression levels of both markers. Further studies should be conducted to explore the carcinogenic role of both components in this type of tumor, as well as additional promising translational uses.
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    Prognostic role of IRS-4 in the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2022) Ortega, Miguel A; Pekarek, Leonel; Garcia Montero, Cielo; Fraile Martinez, Oscar; Saez, Miguel A; Asúnsolo, Angel; Alvarez Mon, Miguel A; Monserrat, Jorge; Coca, Santiago; Toledo Lobo, M. Val; García Honduvilla, Natalio; Albillos, Agustin; Buján, Julia; Alvarez Mon, Melchor; Guijarro, Luis G
    Pancreatic cancer is a malignancy of rising incidence, especially in developed countries due to causes such as sedentary lifestyles, tobacco smoking and ultraprocessed high fat and high sugar diets, amongst others. It is in fact the 7th cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and, in the following years, it is expected to climb upwards to 2nd position, after lung cancer. This is because it may have an asymptomatic course, and when it becomes evident it is in advanced stages, accompanied by metastasis generally. For this reason, survival rates are so low and, even in the few successful cases there is a high possibility of recurrence. Identifying new molecular biomarkers is arising as a highly useful tool for pancreatic cancer clinical management, although much research and work remain to be done in this field. Thus, the present study aims to analyze a series of molecules (IRS-4, Rb1, Ki-67 y COX-2) as candidates for prognosis and survival by immunohistochemistry techniques. Additionally, a 60-month longitudinal surveillance program was conducted, associated with diverse clinical parameters. Kaplan-Meier curves estimating the time of survival according to tumoral expression of those molecules denoted a low cumulative survival rate. Importantly, we observed that high levels of IRS-4 were significantly associated with a bad prognosis of the disease, increasing 160 times the mortality risk. In this way, our research showed a relevant value of these biomarkers in pancreatic cancer patients’ survival, opening a pathway for future research areas designed to inhibit these components