Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19.9 and duke pancreatic monoclonal antigen type 2 (DUPAN-2) levels in the prediction of early hematogenous metastases and as indicators of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Methods: Of the 293 enrolled PDAC patients, 61 had hematogenous metastases at the initial evaluation. One hundred and twenty patients without metastases underwent surgical resection. Of the 120 patients who underwent surgical resection, 45 underwent preoperative treatment and 29 developed early hematogenous metastases within 1 year after the surgery. In patients who underwent preoperative therapy, serum CA 19.9 and DUPAN-2 levels were measured within 2 weeks before the preoperative therapy and the subsequent surgery.
Results: The elevated serum CA 19.9 and DUPAN-2 levels were significantly associated with hematogenous metastasis at initial evaluation and early hematogenous metastasis after surgery. The rate of early hematogenous metastasis and overall survival (OS) in patients with high CA 19.9 and/or high DUPAN-2 (CA 19.9 > 200 U/mL and/or DUPAN-2 >300 U/mL) were 46.3% and 18 months, respectively, whereas the metastatic rate and OS in patients with low CA 19.9 and DUPAN-2 were 12.7% and 37.5 months, respectively. Furthermore, in patients with high CA 19.9 and/or high DUPAN-2, preoperative therapy significantly reduced the rate of early hematogenous metastasis and prolonged the OS.
Conclusions: Serum CA 19.9 and DUPAN-2 levels are useful predictors of early hematogenous metastasis and indicators for effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy in PDAC patients.
Keywords: CA 19.9; DUPAN-2; Metastasis; Recurrence; Tumor marker.
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