Elsevier

HPB

Volume 17, Issue 4, April 2015, Pages 292-298
HPB

Original Article
The prognostic value of stroma in pancreatic cancer in patients receiving adjuvant therapy

https://doi.org/10.1111/hpb.12334Get rights and content
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Abstract

Background

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is comprised of a prominent desmoplastic stromal compartment and only 10–40% of the tumour consists of PDA cells. However, how stromal components should be assessed and how the characteristics of the stromal compartment determine clinical outcomes in PDA patients remain unknown.

Method

A cohort of 66 consecutive patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy and were primarily followed at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1998 and 2004, and treated with adjuvant therapy, were included in a retrospective analysis. Resected PDA blocks with good tissue preservation were available for all patients. A new, computer-aided, quantitative method was developed to assess the density and activity of stroma in PDAs and the associations of these characteristics with clinical outcomes.

Results

High stromal density in resected PDA was found to be significantly associated with longer disease-free [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.39; P = 0.001] and overall (aHR 0.44; P = 0.004) survival after adjusting for the use of pancreatic cancer vaccine therapy, as well as gender and resection margin positivity. Stromal activity, representing activated pancreatic stellate cells in PDAs, was not significantly associated with the prognosis of resected PDAs.

Conclusions

These results illustrate the complexity of the role of stroma in PDAs. Further exploration of the prognostic ability of the characteristics of stroma is warranted.

Cited by (0)

Under a licensing agreement between Aduro BioTech, Inc. (Berkeley, CA, USA) and the Johns Hopkins University and Dr Elizabeth Jaffee, the university is entitled to milestone payments and royalties on sales of the vaccine product described in this manuscript. The authors have no other relevant conflicts of interest.