Strong stromal and cytoplasmic secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine expression was associated with worse outcomes among patients with pancreatic cancer who were treated with adjuvant gemcitabine, according to results of a phase 3, prospective study.
Researchers used tissue-microarrays to evaluate tissue samples from 160 patients with pancreatic cancer for secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) immunohistochemistry.
They found strong stromal SPARC expression was linked to worse DFS (P=.005) and OS (P=.033) among all patients.
However, additional analyses indicated the negative prognosis associated with SPARC expression for DFS (P=.007) and OS (P=.006) was limited to patients treated with gemcitabine.
The tissue samples also indicated high cytoplasmic SPARC expression was associated with worse DFS (P=.041) and OS (P=.011). Researchers noted these negative effects also were limited to patients treated with gemcitabine.
“Previous investigations in pancreatic cancer suggested a prognostic role for SPARC expression in the peritumoral stroma but not for cytoplasmic SPARC expression,” the researchers wrote. “Our data confirm the prognostic significance of SPARC expression after curatively intended resection. The negative prognostic impact was restricted to patients who received adjuvant treatment with gemcitabine, suggesting SPARC as a predictive marker for response to gemcitabine.”
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