Prevalence of Activating K-ras Mutations in the Evolutionary Stages of Neoplasia in Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Tumors of the Pancreas

Abstract

The K-ras codon 12 point mutations are as frequent in IPMT as in ductal adenocarcinoma. A stepwise increase in the frequency of codon 12 mutations correlated with the stage of neoplastic evolution to cancer. This finding is consistent with an important role of K-ras gene mutations in the transformation from normal epithelium to invasive carcinoma in the majority of patients with IPMT.