Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Modern Pathology that immunohistochemistry is better for detecting PTEN loss than gene sequencing in endometrial carcinoma. They compared PTEN immunohistochemistry and PTEN sequencing of 154 endometrioid and non-endometrioid endometrial carcinomas to see which approach was best for determining PTEN loss. "We demonstrate a detailed correlation between PTEN sequencing abnormalities and PTEN immunohistochemistry," the researchers write. "PTEN immunohistochemistry is able to identify the majority of cases with genetic PTEN loss and also detects additional cases with functional PTEN loss otherwise undetected by mutational analysis."

Also in Modern Pathology, a team of researchers from Northwestern University and the Ontario Cancer Institute describes its examination of the role of the aldo-keto reductase family 1B10, or AKR1B10, in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The team evaluated AKR1B10 expression in 50 paraffin-embedded clinical pancreatic cancer samples and found that it is "significantly increased in precursor lesions and infiltrating adenocarcinomas of the pancreas." Further, the team reports that AKR1B10 knockdown "was associated with increased apoptosis, decreased protein prenylation, and decreased activation of KRAS and several of its downstream effectors." The team adds that AKR1B10 inhibition "and subsequent inhibition of protein prenylation including KRAS and its downstream pathway, as well as the induction of cell apoptosis, may serve as a highly promising target for future studies focusing on the development of treatment modalities and prevention strategies."