Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Feb 14:12:15.
doi: 10.1186/1471-230X-12-15.

Diagnostic accuracy of cyst fluid amphiregulin in pancreatic cysts

May T Tun  1 , Reetesh K Pai, Shirley Kwok, Aiwen Dong, Aparna Gupta, Brendan C Visser, Jeff A Norton, George A Poultsides, Subhas Banerjee, Jacques Van Dam, Ann M Chen, Shai Friedland, Brennan A Scott, Rahul Verma, Anson W Lowe, Walter G Park
Affiliations

Diagnostic accuracy of cyst fluid amphiregulin in pancreatic cysts

May T Tun et al. BMC Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Accurate tests to diagnose adenocarcinoma and high-grade dysplasia among mucinous pancreatic cysts are clinically needed. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of amphiregulin (AREG) as a pancreatic cyst fluid biomarker to differentiate non-mucinous, benign mucinous, and malignant mucinous cysts.

Methods: A single-center retrospective study to evaluate AREG levels in pancreatic cyst fluid by ELISA from 33 patients with a histological gold standard was performed.

Results: Among the cyst fluid samples, the median (IQR) AREG levels for non-mucinous (n = 6), benign mucinous (n = 15), and cancerous cysts (n = 15) were 85 pg/ml (47-168), 63 pg/ml (30-847), and 986 pg/ml (417-3160), respectively. A significant difference between benign mucinous and malignant mucinous cysts was observed (p = 0.025). AREG levels greater than 300 pg/ml possessed a diagnostic accuracy for cancer or high-grade dysplasia of 78% (sensitivity 83%, specificity 73%).

Conclusion: Cyst fluid AREG levels are significantly higher in cancerous and high-grade dysplastic cysts compared to benign mucinous cysts. Thus AREG exhibits potential clinical utility in the evaluation of pancreatic cysts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatter plot of cyst AREG by non-mucinous, benign mucinous, and malignant mucinous cysts.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curve analysis of AREG to differentiate benign mucinous from malignant mucinous cysts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. de Jong K, Nio CY, Hermans JJ, Dijkgraaf MG, Gouma DJ, van Eijck CH, van Heel E, Klass G, Fockens P, Bruno MJ. High prevalence of pancreatic cysts detected by screening magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2010;8(9):806–811. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2010.05.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laffan TA, Horton KM, Klein AP, Berlanstein B, Siegelman SS, Kawamoto S. et al.Prevalence of unsuspected pancreatic cysts on MDCT. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2008;191(3):802–807. doi: 10.2214/AJR.07.3340. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fernandez-del Castillo C, Targarona J, Thayer SP, Rattner DW, Brugge WR, Warshaw AL. Incidental pancreatic cysts: clinicopathologic characteristics and comparison with symptomatic patients. Arch Surg. 2003;138(4):427–434. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.138.4.427. discussion 33-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Altekruse S, Kosary CL, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Ruhl J, Howlader N, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Cronin K, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Stinchcomb DG, Edwards BK, editor. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2007, National Cancer Institue, Bethesda, MD. 2010.
    1. Brugge WR, Lauwers GY, Sahani D, Fernandez-del Castillo C, Warshaw AL. Cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. N Engl J Med. 2004;351(12):1218–1226. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra031623. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms