KRAS mutation and immunohistochemical profile in intraductal papillary neoplasm of the intrahepatic bile ducts

Intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct (IPNB) is characterized by a spectrum of diseases ranging from low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia to invasive carcinoma. In the present study, we aimed to investigate immunophenotypic features and KRAS mutations in relation to pathological subtypes and grades in Chinese patients with IPNBs. A total of 46 patients with IPNBs and 11 invasive adenocarcinomas arising in IPNBs (invasive IPNBs) were enrolled and clinicopathological data were analyzed. It was found that CK7 was expressed in 42 of the 46 neoplastic lesions. HepPar1 was expressed in 11 of the 46 noninvasive IPNBs, but not in invasive IPNBs. Additionally, CK19 was frequently expressed in both noninvasive IPNBs and invasive IPNBs. The intestinal-type IPNBs had a significantly higher percentage of MUC2 expression relative to the pancreaticobiliary (P = 0.015) and gastric-type IPNBs (P < 0.001). High-grade IPNBs and invasive IPNBs showed increased expression of cyclin D1, Ki-67, p53, mCEA, and CA19-9. The rate of KRAS mutation was significantly higher in high-grade IPNBs (P = 0.001) and invasive IPNBs (P = 0.006) than that in low- to intermediate-grade IPNBs. Additionally, KRAS mutation was significantly associated with tumor size, and Ki-67 expression. In conclusion, the expression of cyclin D, Ki-67, p53, mCEA and CA19-9 and KRAS mutation status are significantly correlated with histological grades of IPNBs.