Unraveling Proto-Oncogene (ErbB2) Expression in Patients With Carcinoma Head of Pancreas and Chronic Pancreatitis Patients: A Case-Control Study

Abhina Mohanan; Pottakkat Biju; Balasubramaniyan V; Gladwin V

doi:10.7759/cureus.54859

Unraveling Proto-Oncogene (ErbB2) Expression in Patients With Carcinoma Head of Pancreas and Chronic Pancreatitis Patients: A Case-Control Study

Cureus. 2024 Feb 25;16(2):e54859. doi: 10.7759/cureus.54859. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Authors

Abhina Mohanan¹, Pottakkat Biju¹, Balasubramaniyan V², Gladwin V³

Affiliations

¹ Surgical Gastroenterology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry, IND.
² Biochemistry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry, IND.
³ Anatomy, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry, IND.

Abstract

Background The pre-malignant tendency of the normal, non-affected portion of the pancreas is not as well explored as the multicentricity documented in pancreatic cancer cases. In order to ascertain the expression of inflammatory markers and Erythroblastic Oncogene B (ErbB2) in the non-affected pancreas in patients with pancreatic cancer, a case-control study was carried out. Materials and methods In patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer (PC), pro-inflammatory genes and a tumor marker, erythroblastic oncogene 2 (ErbB2) in the epidermal growth factor receptor family were analyzed in the pancreatic tissue at the cut surface of the normal pancreas using qRT-PCR. Twenty patients diagnosed with Chronic pancreatitis (CP) after Frey's surgical procedure were selected, and their pancreatic tissues were analyzed as controls. The HPLC-purified primers were designed using National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) software. The primer's specificity was verified for gene expression analysis using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). The genes under study were normalized using β-actin as the housekeeping gene, and the 2^-ddct method was used to compute the fold change compared to the control sample. Results Patients with margin-positive were not included. Pro-inflammatory genes (TNF-α, NF-kβ, and COX-2) had significantly lower foldchange in PC patients compared to the CP group. The CP control group had higher levels of IL-6 gene expression than the PC group. Patients with pancreatic cancer had a considerably higher expression of the ErbB2 gene than patients with CP. Conclusion The upregulated ErbB2 gene in the unaffected pancreatic tissue of pancreatic cancer patients, when compared to controls, indicates that the remaining pancreas may have the capacity to cause cancer. Proto-oncogene may play a role in the pathophysiologic process in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: carcinoma pancreas; chronic pancreatitis; erbb2/her2/neu; exocrine pancreas; pancreatic head enlargement; pancreatic oncogenesis and inflammation; pancreatoduodenectomy; pro-inflammatory genes; real-time polymerase chain reaction.