Overexpression of c-met in the early stage of pancreatic carcinogenesis; altered expression is not sufficient for progression from chronic pancreatitis to pancreatic cancer

Figure 4 Quantitative analysis of c-met mRNA levels in microdissected pancreatic cancer cells (n = 13), pancreatitis-affected epithelial cells (n = 11), and normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cells (n = 12). c-met levels in pancreatic cancer cells (median, 1.208) were 2.21-fold higher than those in normal ductal epithelial cells (median, 0.546; P = 0.0011). c-met levels in pancreatitis-affected epithelial cells (median, 1.211) were 2.22-fold higher than those in normal ductal epithelial cells (median, 0.546; P = 0.005). c-met levels in microdissected normal ductal epithelial cells were the lowest with a median value of 0.546. Interestingly, pancreatitis-affected epithelial cells expressed levels of c-met that approached those in pancreatic cancer cells.