Loss of DPC4 expression and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters in pancreatic carcinoma

Figure 1 Representative immunostaining results of DPC4 in pancreatic carcinoma (A-E). Positive cells were stained dark brown in the nuclei and/or cytoplasms (A-D). A: Well-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma showed DPC4 expression. hematoxylin counterstain. original magnification, ×100. B: Well-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma showed loss of DPC4 expression (left), whereas the adjacent normal pancre-atic tissue had DPC4 expression (right). hematoxylin counterstain. original magnification, ×200. C: Moderately-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma showed loss of DPC4 expression (right), whereas the adjacent normal pan-creatic tissue had DPC4 expression (left). Vortex in the middle shows invasion of pancreatic nerve. hematoxylin counterstain. original magnification, ×160. D: Poorly-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma showed DPC4 expression. Hematoxylin counterstain. original magnification, ×400. E: Poorly-differentiated pancreatic carcinoma showed loss of DPC4 expression. hematoxylin counterstain. original magnification, ×400.

Figure 2 Kaplan-Meier survival curves comparing patients with DPC4 expression and patients with loss of DPC4 expression. Although patients with DPC4 expression had a higher survival rate than those with loss of DPC4 expression, the difference did not reach ang statistical significance.