Claudin 18.2: An attractive marker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Valentini,Anna M.; Arborea,Graziana; Grassi,Ilaria; Savino,Maria Teresa; Labarile,Nicoletta; Donghia,Rossella; Iacovazzi,Palma A.; Vallarelli,Simona; Ostuni,Carmela; Lotesoriere,Claudio; Armentano,Raffaele

doi:10.3892/ol.2025.14886

Claudin 18.2: An attractive marker in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Authors:
- Anna M. Valentini
- Graziana Arborea
- Ilaria Grassi
- Maria Teresa Savino
- Nicoletta Labarile
- Rossella Donghia
- Palma A. Iacovazzi
- Simona Vallarelli
- Carmela Ostuni
- Claudio Lotesoriere
- Raffaele Armentano
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Affiliations: Department of Pathology, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS ‘S. de Bellis’ Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, I‑70013 Bari, Italy, Data Science Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS, ‘S. de Bellis’ Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, I‑70013 Bari, Italy, Clinical Pathology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS, ‘S. de Bellis’ Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, I‑70013 Bari, Italy, Medical Oncology Unit, National Institute of Gastroenterology, IRCCS ‘S. de Bellis’ Research Hospital, Castellana Grotte, I‑70013 Bari, Italy
Published online on: January 14, 2025 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2025.14886
Article Number: 140
Copyright: © Valentini et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a highly aggressive tumor with limited treatment options. Zolbetuximab, a monoclonal antibody against the tight junction protein Claudin 18.2 has recently been developed. At present, few and conflicting data have been reported regarding the clinical‑pathological features of Claudin 18.2 expression in PDA. The present study investigated the expression of Claudin 18.2 in histological samples from PDA patients with the aim of verifying its utility as a therapeutic biomarker. Claudin 18.2 immunoreactivity was assessed by immunohistochemical staining on 70 formalin‑fixed, paraffin‑embedded PDA specimens (28 surgical specimens and 42 fine needle aspiration biopsies). The results obtained were associated with the clinicopathological characteristics and the survival rate of patients. Claudin 18.2 was detected only in neoplastic cells, not in normal pancreatic tissue. Claudin 18.2 was positive in 50% of samples and a higher expression was associated with well‑ and moderately‑differentiated tumors and lymph node‑negative status. The high expression of Claudin 18.2 in neoplastic tissue and absence in normal cells suggested that this protein had an attractive role in PDA as both a diagnostic and a prognostic‑therapeutic marker. High expression of Claudin 18.2 in neoplastic tissue was associated with more favorable prognostic parameters and the high percentage of positive samples obtained suggests that Zolbetuximab may be suitable for a large number of patients.

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