Abstract: Objective To explore the expression and meaning of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in pancreatic cancer and its correlation with the occurrence, development and metastasis of the tumor tissues and its influence on prognosis. Methods Via immunohistochemical staining, this study used the commercial tissue chip to determine the expression of Hsp90 in 63 pancreatic cancer resection specimens and their para-cancerous counterparts, which were pathologically confirmed from January 2009 to August 2013. We also analyzed the correlation with patient's clinical parameters by using one-way ANOVA or t test. Results Hsp90 expression in pancreatic cancer tissues is significantly higher than tissue adjacent to carcinoma, and it is associated with histological grade, lymph node metastasis, clinical and TNM phase of pancreatic cancer (P < 0. 05). Conclusion Hsp90 is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer tissues, and its expression is associated with invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, Hsp90 may serves as a prognostic indicator of pancreatic cancer while its high expression may represent poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.

Key words: pancreatic cancer, heat shock protein Hsp90, immunohistochemistry