Role of the MEN1 tumour suppressor gene in human ductal pancreatic cancer

MEN1 is a novel tumour suppressor gene involved in the etiology of sporadic endocrine pancreatic tumours. Based on common ontogenetic features of both tissues, we analyzed the role of MEN1 in ductal pancreatic cancer. Wild type MEN1 mRNA expression, but no mutations within the MEN1 coding sequence or MEN1 promoter region were detected in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues and carcinoma cell lines, using sensitive single-strand conformational polymorphism-heteroduplex and sequencing analyses. Thus, human pancreatic cancer does not seem to require inactivation of the MEN1 tumour suppressor pathway.