Gene expression profile correlates with overall survival in patients with resected pancreatic adenocarinoma

Purpose/Objective(s): To correlate gene expression and overall survival (OS) in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have undergone definitive surgery Materials/Methods: Patients were identified that were treated with definitive surgery without neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The Beaumont BioBank consented patients then collected and stored tissue samples. Patients were grouped into short term (<10 months, n=13) and long term (>20 months, n=11) survivors. RNA was extracted from fresh frozen tissues, and global gene expression patterns in the short and longer-term survivors were compared. Pathway analysis of the significant genes was also performed. Results: The median age at the time of surgery was 64 years. The mean overall survival in each group was 7.5 months and 32.0 months. We identified 163 genes that were differentially expressed between patients who survived <10 months and >20 months from their definitive surgery. Many of the genes identified have known prognostic importance in oncology; however, less than half of these genes have been reported to be associated with survival in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pathway analysis identified expression targets of SP1, JUN, and EGF to be highly regulated based upon differences in overall survival. Conclusions: In pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients who have undergone definitive resection, we have identified multiple genes associated with inferior survival. Many of the genes reported in this study have not previously been linked to overall survival in this patient population. Samples from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients that survived > 20 months (n=11) were compared to samples from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients that survived < 10 months (n=13).