Serum Syndecan-1: A Novel Biomarker for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Introduction: Syndecan-1 (SDC1) has multiple functions in tumorigenesis in general and specifically in pancreatic cancer. We aimed to evaluate SDC1 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Methods: In this case-control study, patients newly diagnosed with a biopsy-proven PDAC were enrolled alongside healthy individuals in a derivation-validation cohort design. Serum SDC1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. The diagnostic accuracy of SDC1 levels for diagnosing PDAC was computed. A unified cohort enriched with additional early-stage patients with PDAC was used to evaluate the association of SDC1 with survival outcomes and patient characteristics.

Results: In the derivation cohort, serum SDC1 levels were significantly higher in patients with PDAC (n = 39) compared with healthy controls (n = 20) (40.1 ng/mL, interquartile range 29.8-95.3 vs 25.6 ng/mL, interquartile range 17.1-29.8, respectively; P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic analysis area under the curve was 0.847 (95% confidence interval 0.747-0.947, P < 0.001). These results were replicated in a separate age-matched validation cohort (n = 38 PDAC, n = 38 controls; area under the curve 0.844, 95% confidence interval 0.757-0.932, P < 0.001). In the combined-enriched PDAC cohort (n = 110), using a cutoff of 35 ng/mL, the median overall 5-year survival between patients below and above this cutoff was not significantly different, although a trend for better survival after 1 year was found in the lower level group (P = 0.06). There were 12 of the 110 patients with PDAC (11%) who had normal CA 19-9 in the presence of elevated SDC1.

Discussion: These findings suggest serum SDC1 as a promising novel biomarker for early blood-based diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.