Association of PTP4A3 expression and tumour size in functioning pituitary adenoma: A descriptive study

Abstract

PTP4A3 is a subclass of a protein tyrosine phosphatase super family and is expressed in a range of epithelial neoplasms. We evaluated PTP4A3 expression and its association with clinical-pathological parameters in different types of functioning pituitary adenomas. Methods: A total of 34 functioning pituitary adenomas samples were evaluated in this observational study. PTP4A3 expression was examined by immunohistochemical staining, and, possible correlations between PTP4A3 and some clinical-pathological variables were investigated. Results: PTP4A3 was expressed in 19 out of 34 tumors (55%), at the cytoplasmic level of tumoral cells. Moreover, there was significant association (p=0.042) between PTP4A3 expression and tumoral size. Conclusions: PTP4A3 was expressed in more than half of the tumors analyzed, with there being a significant association with the tumoral size of functioning adenomas. This allows to speculate that PTP4A3 may regulate tumor growth, although further investigations are necessary to determine if this phosphatase can serve as a biomarker or used as a therapeutic target in pituitary macroadenomas