K-RAS GENE MUTATIONS AT CODON 12 AND 13 IN PANCREATIC CANCER AND CHRONIC PANCREATITIS PATIENTS FROM NORTH INDIAN POPULATION

Author(s): Sunil K Polipalli, Syed A Husain, Anil Agarwal, Ranjana Gondal and Premashis Kar

Abstract

To clarify the sensitivity and the validity of K-ras point mutational analysis at codon 12 and 13 in North Indian patients with pancreatic diseases, and the possible correlation between the presence of the mutation and the histopathological findings. Sixty-five pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and 50 chronic pancreatitis patients were enrolled in this study. Codon 12 and 13 K-ras mutations were examined using the two step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by single strand confirmation polymorphism (SSCP) and further confirmed by automated DNA sequencing. The positive percentage of K-ras in pancreatic carcinoma was 72.30% (47/65) which was significantly higher than that in the chronic pancreatitis 6.0% (3/50) (P<0.01). The nucleotide sequences of K-ras demonstrate GGT to GGA (G>A) and GGC to GGG (C>G) transitions at codon12 and codon13 respectively. These results draw attention to the critical role of K-ras gene mutation for the detection of early stage pancreatic cancer from chronic pancreatitis. K-ras gene mutation can be used as an important biomarker for early pancreatic cancer diagnosis, but it needs to be confirmed in large number of chronic pancreatitis patients.

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