Systematic review of carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) as a biochemical marker in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

CA 19-9 as a predictor for response and survival in advanced pancreatic cancer patients treated with chemoradiotherapy

PURPOSE

To investigate the significance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) levels for predicting response and survival in pancreatic cancer (PC) treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We retrospectively reviewed data from 69 patients with PC between 1999 and 2005. All patients had elevated CA 19-9 levels before treatment. CA 19-9 levels (pre- and posttreatment CA 19-9) and their decline were analyzed for radiologic response and overall survival.

RESULTS

Seventeen patients (25%) had a 50% or greater reduction in tumor size within 3 months of chemoradiotherapy (1 complete response, 16 partial responses). CA 19-9 decline was significantly correlated with radiologic response (p = 0.03). The median survival time (MST) was 12 months (range, 4-48 months), and 1-year survival rate was 44%. Pretreatment CA 19-9 > 1,200 U/mL (MST, 13 vs. 8 months; p = 0.002), posttreatment CA 19-9 >100 U/mL (MST, 17 vs. 10 months; p = 0.0003), and CA 19-9 decline <or=40% (MST, 13 vs. 10 months; p = 0.005) were the strongest and most unfavorable prognostic factors. In addition, patients with multiple unfavorable CA 19-9 levels had significantly worse outcomes than those without.

CONCLUSIONS

CA 19-9 decline shows a correlation with radiologic response. The combination of pretreatment CA 19-9 >1,200 U/mL, posttreatment CA 19-9 >100 U/mL, and CA 19-9 decline <or=40% may possibly serve as a surrogate marker for poor survival in advanced PC receiving chemoradiotherapy.

Prognosis of resected ampullary adenocarcinoma by preoperative serum CA19-9 levels and platelet-lymphocyte ratio

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether preoperative CA19-9 levels and the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) might reflect prognostic indices for resected ampullary adenocarcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were collected prospectively over a 10-year period for consecutive patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy for malignancy.

RESULTS

Both preoperative PLR and CA19-9 results were available in 52 cases of resected ampullary adenocarcinoma. Preoperative CA19-9 levels of </=150 kU/l (or </=300 kU/l in the presence of bilirubin levels >35 micromol/l) and a PLR of </=160 were found to represent the optimal cut-off values to risk stratify patients. If both levels were elevated (n = 8), patients had a median overall survival of 10.1 months. If either CA19-9 or PLR were elevated individually (n = 23), patients had a median survival of 25.2 months. For cases where both levels were less than the cut-off values (n = 21), the median overall survival time was not reached but was greater than 60 months (log rank, p < 0.001). This preoperative risk stratification was found to remain a significant independent predictor of survival on multivariate analysis (Cox, p = 0.001) alongside resection margin status (p = 0.002) and tumor size (p = 0.051).

CONCLUSIONS

Preoperative CA19-9 and PLR both merit further evaluation as prognostic indices in resected ampullary adenocarcinoma.

A mouse to human search for plasma proteome changes associated with pancreatic tumor development

BACKGROUND

The complexity and heterogeneity of the human plasma proteome have presented significant challenges in the identification of protein changes associated with tumor development. Refined genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of human cancer have been shown to faithfully recapitulate the molecular, biological, and clinical features of human disease. Here, we sought to exploit the merits of a well-characterized GEM model of pancreatic cancer to determine whether proteomics technologies allow identification of protein changes associated with tumor development and whether such changes are relevant to human pancreatic cancer.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Plasma was sampled from mice at early and advanced stages of tumor development and from matched controls. Using a proteomic approach based on extensive protein fractionation, we confidently identified 1,442 proteins that were distributed across seven orders of magnitude of abundance in plasma. Analysis of proteins chosen on the basis of increased levels in plasma from tumor-bearing mice and corroborating protein or RNA expression in tissue documented concordance in the blood from 30 newly diagnosed patients with pancreatic cancer relative to 30 control specimens. A panel of five proteins selected on the basis of their increased level at an early stage of tumor development in the mouse was tested in a blinded study in 26 humans from the CARET (Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial) cohort. The panel discriminated pancreatic cancer cases from matched controls in blood specimens obtained between 7 and 13 mo prior to the development of symptoms and clinical diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that GEM models of cancer, in combination with in-depth proteomic analysis, provide a useful strategy to identify candidate markers applicable to human cancer with potential utility for early detection.

TPS, CA 19-9, VEGF-A, and CEA as diagnostic and prognostic factors in patients with mass lesions in the pancreatic head

INTRODUCTION

Although numerous tumour markers are available for periampullary tumours, including pancreatic cancer, their specificity and sensitivity have been questioned.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To assess the diagnostic and prognostic values of tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) we took serum samples in 56 patients with mass lesions in the pancreatic head. Among these patients, further investigations revealed pancreatic cancer in 20 patients, other malignant diseases in 12 and benign conditions in 24.

RESULTS

Median CEA in all patients was 3.4 microg/L (range 0.5-585.0), median CA 19-9 was105 kU/L (range 0.6-1 300 00), median TPS 123.5 U/L (range 15.0-3350) and median VEGF-A 132.5 ng/L (range 60.0-4317). Area under the curve was 0.747, standard error (standard error [SE] =0.075) for CEA, 0.716 (SE=0.078) for CA 19-9 and 0.822 (SE=0.086) for TPS in ROC plots based on the ability of the tumours to distinguish between benign and malignant conditions. None of the markers significantly predicted survival in the subgroup of patients with pancreatic cancer.

DISCUSSION

Our study shows that the markers may be used as fairly reliable diagnostic tools, but cannot be used to predict survival.

Type 2 dıabetes mellıtus and CA 19-9 levels

AIM: To prospectively investigate serum CA 19-9 levels in type 2 diabetic patients in comparison with age- and gender-matched control subjects.

METHODS: We recorded duration of diabetes and examined fasting glucose levels, HbA1c levels and serum CA 19-9 levels in 76 type 2 diabetic patients and 76 controls. Abdominal CT was performed in order to eliminate abdominal malignancy in the diabetic and control groups.

RESULTS: The average CA 19-9 level was 46.0 ± 22.4 U/mL for diabetic patients whereas it was 9.97 ± 7.1 U/mL for the control group (P < 0.001 ). Regression analysis showed a positive correlation between diabetes and CA 19-9 independent from age, gender, glucose level and HbA1c level (t = 8.8, P < 001 ). Two of the diabetic patients were excluded from the study because of abdominal malignancy shown by CT at the initial evaluation. For all patients, abdominal CT showed no pancreatic abnormalities.

CONCLUSION: CA 19-9 is a tumor-associated antigen, which is elevated in pancreatic, upper gastrointestinal tract, ovarian hepatocellular, and colorectal cancers, as well as in inflammatory conditions of the hepatobiliary system, biliary obstruction and in thyroid diseases. Diabetes has been claimed to be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, which is increasing its incidence and has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers. CA 19-9 is used in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer but is also a marker of pancreatic tissue damage that might be caused by diabetes. We propose that a higher cut-off value of CA 19-9 should be used in diabetics to differentiate benign and malignant pancreatic disease, and subtle elevations of CA 19-9 in diabetics should be considered as the indication of exocrine pancreatic dysfunction.