Serum Levels of Kisspeptin Are Elevated in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) still represents a devastating disease associated with a very limited survival. Novel biomarkers allowing an early diagnosis as well as an optimal selection of suitable treatment options for individual patients are urgently needed to improve the dismal outcome of PDAC patients. Recently, alterations of Kisspeptin serum levels, a member of the adipokine family, were described in various types of cancers. However, the role of circulating Kisspeptin as a biomarker in PDAC patients is poorly defined. In this study, we measured Kisspeptin serum levels in a cohort of 128 prospectively enrolled PDAC patients undergoing surgical resection as well as 36 healthy controls. Kisspeptin concentrations were elevated in PDAC patients compared to control samples. Nevertheless, Kisspeptin serum levels were independent of tumor-related factors such as the tumor grading, TNM stage, or clinical features such as the ECOG performance status. Finally, in our analysis, neither preoperative nor postoperative Kisspeptin levels turned out as a significant predictor of overall survival after tumor resection. In conclusion, our data suggest that Kisspeptin concentrations are altered in PDAC patients but do not allow to predict patients' outcome after resection of PDAC.

Figure 1

Serum Kisspeptin levels are significantly elevated in patients with PDAC. (a) Serum levels of Kisspeptin were determined by ELISA in PDAC patients and compared to those in healthy controls. (b) CA19-9 shows the highest AUC value regarding the diagnosis of PDAC. (c) ROC analysis comparing the diagnostic relevance of Kisspeptin and CA-19-9 and the combination of Kisspeptin and CA19-9 for PDAC.

Figure 2

Preoperative Kisspeptin concentrations do not reflect the patients' prognosis following PDAC resection. (a) The 50^th percentile (159.75 pg/ml) of preoperative Kisspeptin serum levels is no suitable discriminator to identify patients who display long-term survival. (b) The optimal preoperative Kisspeptin cut-off value (234.0 pg/ml) is no discriminator between patients who display long-term survival and those who did not.

Figure 3

Postoperative Kisspeptin concentrations and patients' outcome. (a) Postoperative concentrations of Kisspeptin are similar to those measured before surgery. (b) The 50^th percentile of postoperative Kisspeptin concentrations (124.55 pg/ml) is no suitable discriminator to identify patients who display long-term survival and those who did not. (c) The ideal cut-off value for postoperative Kisspeptin concentrations (103.5 pg/ml) is no significant discriminator to identify patients who display long-term survival and those who did not (p = 0.099). (d) The individual course of Kisspeptin levels before and after tumor resection did not reflect patients' outcome after surgery.