Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of mTOR signaling pathway- associated proteins in pancreatic cancer. Methods The phosphorylation levels of the mTOR signaling pathway-associated proteins, including Akt, mTOR and P70S6K, were detected and compared by the immunohistochemical technique in tissues of pancreatic cancer and non- pancreatic cancer. The correlations among the phosphorylation levels of the mTOR signaling pathway-associated proteins and the patients’age, gender, tumor size, histological grading, lymph node metastasis and tumor stage were evaluated
by Spearman correlation analysis. Results The positive staining of p-Akt and p-mTOR protein was mainly present in the cytoplasm, while p-P70S6K was in the cell nucleus. The expression of p-mTOR, p-Akt and p-P70S6K were significantly higher in pancreatic cancer tissues than those in non-pancreatic cancer tissues (all
P values < 0.01). Spearman correlation analysis revealed the expression of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-P70S6K had no associations with the patients’age, gender, tumor size and histological grading (all P values > 0.05), while it correlated with lymph node metastasis and tumor staging (both P values <0.05). Conclusion mTOR
signaling pathway correlateed with the development and progression of pancreatic cancer; however, the phosphorylation levels of the mTOR signaling pathway- associated proteins had little significance in theclinical classification and prognosis of pancreatic cancer.

Key words: Pancreatic cancer, mTOR signaling pathway, Immunohistochemistry, Protein phosphorylation