The relationship between the L-type amino acid transporter 1 expression and clinical features in resectable pancreatic cancer

Objective: To explore the relationship between the expression of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) and pancreatic cancer's clinical features and prognosis. Methods: The expression of LAT1 in pancreatic cancer and paracancerous tissue was detected in 32 patients with pancreatic cancer postoperatively. The patients' general condition and expression of Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and Ki67 were recorded. In addition, the patients' clinical course was inquired about via telephone calls. Results: The expression of LAT1 in pancreatic carcinomas was positive significantly higher than that in paracancerous tissues (13/32 vs 0/32, P<0.001). The expression of LAT1 was positively correlated with Ki67 expression (r=0.632, P=0.001) and the degree of differentiation significantly (r=0.390, P=0.027), but negatively correlated with the number of lymph nodes (r=-0.378, P=0.033). Multivariate analysis confirmed that the expressions of CEA and LAT1 were independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS) (P-CEA=0.015, P-LAT1=0.042). Meanwhile, CEA and CA199 could predict poor overall survival (OS) (P-CEA=0.024, PCA19-9=0.040). Conclusion: Overall, LAT1 is related to the degree of proliferation and differentiation of pancreatic cancer. Moreover, while LAT1 and CEA are markers for predicting DFS in pancreatic cancer, LAT1 is not good at predicting OS.