Prognostic Significance of Annexin A1 Expression in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Annexin A1 is a 37-kDa calcium- and phospholipid-binding protein of the annexin superfamily considered toplay an important role in tumorigenesis. However, associations with clinicopathological features in pancreaticductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cases have yet to be fully defined. We therefore investigated the prognosticvalue of annexin A1 protein as a PDAC biomarker in 83 tumor and matched non-cancerous tissues or normalpancreas tissues. Expression was analyzed using real-time RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.In non-tumor tissue, myoepithelial cells showed no or weak expression of annexin A1 while expression was strongand sometimes even located in the nuclei of endothelial cells in tumor tissue. High expression was significantlyassociated with advanced stage (P <0.05) and a worse overall survival (P <0.05). These results provide newinsights to better understand the role of annexin A1 in PDAC survival, and might be relevant to prediction ofprognosis and development of more effective therapeutic strategies aimed at improving survival.