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Purpose Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) drive desmoplasia in pancreatic cancer. Our study analyzed both tumor and PSC, since interaction of these cell types may promote tumor progression. Experimental design Immunohistochemical expression of SPARC, CTGF, TGF-β1, phospho-Akt, survivin and α-SMA was analyzed prior to chemoradiation in 58 locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) biopsy specimens. Fisher’s exact test served to detect associations between tumor and PSC expression of markers. Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the association of marker expression with overall survival. SPARC expression was analyzed in human pancreatic cancer cells (Panc-1) and in human PSC (hPSC), and the effect of SPARC on the invasion of Panc-1 cells was measured in monoculture or in coculture with hPSC. Results SPARC was expressed predominantly in the …