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<strong>Background:</strong> Thioredoxin, NADPH, and thioredoxin reductase form the thioredoxin<br />system which exists in all living cells. Oxidants have a major role in cancer pathogenesis;<br />therefore, it is necessary to study the role of redox-active compounds such as thioredoxin<br />reductase to increase our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms involved in cancer<br />pathogenesis and ultimately design more effective treatments. The research on the role<br />of the thioredoxin system in pancreatic cancer is limited; hence, we intend to compare<br />the tissue distribution and activity of thioredoxin reductase in pancreatic cancer with<br />healthy tissues located at the tumor margins.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 29 patients with pancreatic cancer participated in this study.<br />The tissue distribution was determined by immunohistochemistry analysis. We used<br />a commercial ELISA kit to determine enzyme activity.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> There was no significant difference between the tumor tissue and its<br />normal surrounding tissue in terms of thioredoxin reductase activity (P=0.56). However,<br />there was a significant difference when we considered the different disease stages. A<br />significant relationship also existed between the staining intensity of thioredoxin<br />reductase and disease stage (P=0.022).<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> There was no observed difference between the pancreatic cancer<br />tissue and its healthy margin in terms of thioredoxin reductase activity and tissue<br />distribution. This finding did not support its possible role in pancreatic cancer<br />pathogenesis.