Histological and Molecular Subtype of Pancreatic Cancer

A special issue of Current Oncology (ISSN 1718-7729). This special issue belongs to the section "Gastrointestinal Oncology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2025) | Viewed by 397

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Medical Oncology Unit, University Hospital of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
Interests: pancreatic cancer; perineural invasion; pain; NGF; neutrophins
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive solid tumors and is showing increasing incidence. Its poor prognosis is mainly due to early systemic spread, local aggressiveness, and the poor efficacy of actual treatments. The most common pancreatic cancer is ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for more than 90% of all pancreatic malignancies. Except pancreatic adenocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer has several uncommon histological subtypes, including neuroendocrine tumors, pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, and invasive solid pseudopapillary tumors. The clinical behavior and molecular characteristics are different among the different histological subtypes, and therefore, it can facilitate the management of different histological subtypes of pancreatic cancer. For this Special Issue, we welcome manuscripts focusing on recent advancements in the molecular or histopathological characterization of pancreatic cancer, including uncommon histological subtypes. We also welcome systematic reviews and original research on this relevant topic.

Dr. Ingrid Garajová
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • pancreatic cancer
  • acinar cell pancreatic cancer
  • adenosquamous pancreatic carcinoma
  • molecular subtype

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2473 KB  
Article
Comparative Prognostic Roles of β-Catenin Expression and Tumor–Stroma Ratio in Pancreatic Cancer: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy vs. Upfront Surgery
by Shu Oikawa, Hiroyuki Mitomi, So Murai, Akihiro Nakayama, Seiya Chiba, Shigetoshi Nishihara, Yu Ishii, Toshiko Yamochi and Hitoshi Yoshida
Curr. Oncol. 2025, 32(10), 578; https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol32100578 - 17 Oct 2025
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Abstract
The benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) over upfront surgery (UFS) for resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is increasingly recognized, yet prognostic biomarkers remain undefined. We evaluated tumor–stroma ratio (TSR), β-catenin (β-CTN) expression, and tumor budding (TB) in 84 resected PDACs (35 NAC, 49 [...] Read more.
The benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) over upfront surgery (UFS) for resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is increasingly recognized, yet prognostic biomarkers remain undefined. We evaluated tumor–stroma ratio (TSR), β-catenin (β-CTN) expression, and tumor budding (TB) in 84 resected PDACs (35 NAC, 49 UFS) using digital image analysis of multi-cytokeratin (m-CK) and β-CTN immunohistochemistry. TSR was defined as the proportion of malignant epithelial area within the tumor, and the β-CTN/m-CK index as the ratio of β-CTN to m-CK immunoreactivity in tumor tissue relative to intralobular ducts. TB was significantly less frequent in NAC than UFS (p = 0.003), suggesting that NAC may indirectly modulate epithelial–mesenchymal transition, with TB regarded as its morphological correlate. In the NAC cohort, low TSR was associated with more favorable histological response (Evans IIa/IIb, median 7%; Evans I, 16%; p = 0.009), likely reflecting NAC-induced tumor shrinkage with relative stromal predominance. In multivariable analysis, low β-CTN/m-CK index (<0.5) predicted shorter relapse-free survival in both NAC (HR = 2.516, p = 0.043) and UFS (HR = 2.230, p = 0.025) subgroups. High TSR (≥13%) was associated with shorter cancer-specific survival (HR = 2.414, p = 0.034) in the overall cohort, indicating prognostic value complementing its association with NAC response. These results identify the β-CTN/m-CK index and TSR as prognostic biomarkers in PDAC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Histological and Molecular Subtype of Pancreatic Cancer)
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