Purpose: Transforming growth factorβ (TGFβ) is an extracellular ligand that binds to a heterodimeric receptor, initiating signals that regulate growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Many cancers, including pancreatic cancer, harbor defects in
TGFβ
signaling and are resistant to TGFβ-mediated growth inhibition. Recently, it has been reported that enhanced expression of TGFβ1 is associated with the progression of a pancreatic ductal cell carcinoma (PCA) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). We
investigated the difference in the expressions of TGFβ1 and the TGFβ receptor II (TβRII) in PCA and CP and the clinical significance of TGFβ1 and TβRII in PCA. Methods: Surgically resected pancreatic specimen were obtained from 26 patients
with a
PCA and 12 with CP; 5 normal pancreatic tissue specimens were also obtained. The specimens were immunostained for TGFβ1 and TβRII. Results: Immunohistochemical analyses of TGFβ1 and TβRII revealed positive immunostaining in 73.1% and 66.7% of
the
tumors, respectively. In the ductal epithelial cells of PCA and CP, there were no significant differences in the expressions of TGFβ1 and TβRII. In contrast, their stromal expressions tended to be stronger in PCA than in CP; especially, the
expression
of TβRII was significantly higher in PCA (p=0.008). Also the presence of TGFβ1 and TβRII in the cancer was significantly associated with node metastasis, advanced tumor stage (p＜0.01), and short survival time (p＜0.05). Conclusion: There
might
be
some pathological difference in the stromal reactions of TGFβ1 or TβRII between PCA and CP. The presence of TGFβ1 or TβRII indicates a role in disease progression.
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