Molecular markers in pancreatic cancer diagnosis ★

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents a fatal neoplasia with a high mortality rate. Effective early detection methods are needed since this is the best way to cure this disease.During the last several years, many investigations focused on determining relevant biomarkers that may be present during early stages of pancreatic tumor development. Although several biomarkers have been proposed for pancreatic cancer detection, the clinical applicability has been confusing.Currently, although CA19-9 is one test used, the sensitivity and specificity for the disease are less than optimal.Here, we review several new potential serum, plasma and stool markers that are currently under evaluation. Although these have not been sufficiently validated for routine clinical use, these markers could prove valuable with further investigations. We keep the hope that a combination of some of these novel biomarkers can be a useful tool for early PDAC diagnosis before image techniques and/or patient's symptoms reveal disease in an incurable state.

► The identification of novel clinical biomarkers for pancreatic cancer diagnosis is needed.
► Although contradictory, CA9-9 is the most useful serum test for PDAC detection.
► Further validation of markers with better sensitivity and specificity than CA19-9 are needed.
► Different robust biomarker combinations will offer a superior clinical application.