Growth-regulated oncogene-alpha (GRO-α) has been reported to be over-expressed in a series of human
cancers including
colorectal cancer,
melanoma,
gastric cancer,
hepatocellular carcinoma, and
ovarian cancer and was known to regulate multiple biologic activities associated with
tumor progression. But the role in human
pancreatic cancer remains unclear. To examine the expression of GRO-α and its clinical significance in
pancreatic cancer (PC), a total of 12 fresh PC specimens and 12 surrounding normal tissues to detect GRO-α
mRNA expression were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Immunohistochemical analysis of GRO-α
protein was performed in 160
formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded PC tissue samples and 68 control specimens, including 37 matched normal
surgical margins and 31 benign pancreatic lesions. Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognosis of PC patients.Expression of GRO-α
mRNA in PC tissues was significantly compared with that in adjacent normal tissues (1.399 ± 0.165 vs. 0.870 ± 0.103 t = 1.75, P = 0.012), GRO-α
protein expression in cytoplasm of
cancer cells and stroma was detected in 41.88% and 40.63% PC specimens, respectively, and was significantly higher than that in corresponding normal tissues (P = 0.008, P = 0.002, respectively). High GRO-α expression in the cytoplasm of
cancer cells was related to
tumor location (P = 0.047),
tumor status (T classification; P = 0.001), distant
metastasis (P < 0.001), and
tumor node
metastasis (TNM) stage (P < 0.001). High GRO-α expression in the stroma correlated with perineural invasion (P = 0.010), T classification (P = 0.006) and TNM stage (P = 0.004), and was marginally associated with
metastasis (P = 0.056). Elevated expression of GRO-α in cytoplasm of
cancer cells (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.730, P = 0.007) and stroma (HR = 3.120, P = 0.022) were independent prognostic factors of
pancreatic cancer. T classification (HR = 2.130, P = 0.023),
lymphatic metastasis (HR = 4.211, P = 0.009) and TNM classification (HR = 0.481, P = 0.031) were also prognostic predictors in PC patients.GRO-α expression was elevated in
pancreatic cancer tissues and might be a potential therapeutic target and prognostic marker in patients with
pancreatic cancer.