K-Ras mutations and benign pancreatic disease

This review addresses the history of the ras oncogene, the techniques used to detect molecular alterations in the ras oncogene, and the application of polymerase chain reaction (PCB)-based methods to determine point mutations in clinical samples of patients with pancreatic diseases, namely pancreatic carcinoma and chronic pancreatitis, The frequency of res mutations in pancreatic carcinoma is high, ranging from 70 to almost 100%, The frequence sf res mutations in chronic pancreatitis, either in pancreatic tissue or pancreatic secretions, vary between 0 and 100%. This wide range in part may be swing to differences in sampling, DNA extraction, or PCR method, The meaning of a k-ras mutation is under debate, Taking into account the positivity of ductal hyperplasias in normal pancreas and ras mutations in normal appearing duet: cells, this molecular finding may not mean anything, in contrast, res mutations are associated with smoking, one acknowledged risk factor for pancreatic carcinoma, The need for large prospective cohort studies is emphasized.