Using nonradioactive in situ hybridization, we evaluated the gene expression patterns of three genes previously shown to be robust markers of the juxtatumoral stroma within eight infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (ApoC1, ApoD and MMP11), and compared these patterns to those associated with seven infiltrating colloid and tubular carcinomas arising in association with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), a histologically distinct form of primary carcinoma of the pancreas, two surgically resected samples of chronic pancreatitis and two surgically resected pancreatic cancer liver metastases.