Activation of the Wnt pathway through Wnt2 promotes metastasis in pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role in physiological and pathological process, including in the occurrence and development of tumor. The purpose of this study is to determine whether Wnt2 and sFRP4, key molecules of signaling pathway, are of prognostic value for survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. We performed immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays containing 90 pancreatic cancer specimens to evaluate the protein expression of Wnt2 and sFRP4. Our results showed that the cytoplasmic expression level of Wnt2 in pancreatic cancer tissues was significantly associated with LNM (P=0.029) and AJCC stage (P=0.008). Additionally, Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that high Wnt2 expression was significantly correlated with poor clinical outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer. In conclusion, Wnt2 may play an important role in the development of pancreatic cancer through activation of the Wnt pathways and serve as a potential candidate for treatment target of pancreatic cancer.