Expression of A20 is reduced in pancreatic cancer tissues.

A20 protein plays essential roles in tumorigenesis, but its value for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer remains unclear. Our aim was to determine whether A20 is a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The pancreatic cancer tissue microarray contained pancreatic cancer tissues (n = 40) and normal tissues (n = 10) was immunohistochemically assessed for A20 expression. The association of A20 expression with the tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, age and gender in pancreatic cancer patients were estimated by ANOVA. Stronger staining of A20 was observed in the normal tissues compared with that in the pancreatic cancer tissues (P = 0.003). ANOVA analysis showed that the A20 expression was not deeply associated with tumor grade, gender, age or TNM stages. The results implied that low A20 expression is significantly associated with the pancreatic cancer behavior, but is not the sole determinant of pancreatic cancer progression.