Serum tumor markers in pancreatic cancer-recent discoveries

Abstract

The low prevalence of pancreatic cancer remains an obstacle to the development of effective screening tools in an asymptomatic population. However, development of effective serologic markers still offers the potential for improvement of diagnostic capabilities, especially for subpopulations of patients with high risk for pancreatic cancer. The accurate identification of patients with pancreatic cancer and the exclusion of disease in those with benign disorders remain important goals. While clinical experience largely dismissed many candidate markers as useful markers of pancreatic cancer, CA19-9 continues to show promise. The present review highlights the development and the properties of different tumor markers in pancreatic cancer and their impact on the diagnostic and treatment of this aggressive disease.

Figure 1

Results of the Pubmed search for references on carbohydrate antigens and glycoproteins in pancreatic cancer serum markers.

Figure 2

Results of the Pubmed search for references on cytokeratins, mucins and others in pancreatic cancer serum markers (GT II= Galactosyltransferase isoenzyme II).