Pancreatic Cancer and Benign Pancreatic Cystic Lesions: Differences in Cytokines, Growth Factors, and Immunological Markers Concentrations in Serum and Cystic Fluid.

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cystic lesions may be benign and require observation or cancerous, with high mortality, requiring risky surgery. Diagnosis is often difficult, and the search for biomarkers to differentiate pancreatic cancer from other lesions is ongoing.

METHODS

60 consecutive patients, operated on due to histopathologically confirmed pancreatic cancer or due to pancreatic cystic lesions, were analyzed. The concentrations of 16 immunological factors (sHER-2neu, sEGFR, sIL-6Ra, follistatin, FGF-basic, sVEGFR-2, PECAM-1, PDGF-AB BB, prolactin, G-CSF, HGF, sTIE-2, SCF, sVEGFR-1, osteopontin, and leptin) were assessed in both serum and cystic fluid and compared between the groups.

RESULTS

Lower PDGF-AB/BB and leptin concentrations in serum, as well as lower sTIE-2, osteopontin, and leptin levels, were associated with cancer. In cystic tumors, for some factors, significant differences between cancerous and benign lesions were found when the differences in cystic fluid and serum concentrations were compared.

CONCLUSIONS

PDGF-AB/BB, leptin, sTIE-2, and osteopontin, as well as the comparison of serum/cystic fluid concentrations of immunological factors, might be useful for pancreatic cystic tumor diagnosis. However, this requires confirmation in a larger study.