The Value of Serum Tumor Markers and Blood Inflammation Markers in Differentiating Pancreatic Serous Cystic Neoplasms and Pancreatic Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms

Abstract

Although many studies have emphasized the prognostic and diagnostic value of tumor markers and various inflammation-related markers, their clinical significance in differentiating benign and malignant pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs) remains to be clarified. The present study explored the value of serum tumor markers and inflammation-related biomarkers in the differentiation of pancreatic serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) and pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs). A total of 79 patients with PCNs were included in this study, including 35 patients with SCNs and 44 patients with MCNs. Comparison of baseline data with preoperative results of serum tumor markers and associated inflammatory markers revealed significant differences in carbohydrate antigen 199 (CA199) and “lymphocyte × ALB” (LA) between the two groups (p = 0.0023, p = 0.0149, respectively). Univariate and multivariate regression analyses showed that an increase in CA199 and a decrease in LA were relevant risk factors for MCNs. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was generated, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the prediction efficiency of each indicator. The results showed that CA199 and LA had good differential diagnostic efficacy for SCNs and MCNs. This is the first to report to demonstrate that LA can be used for the differential diagnosis of SNCs and MCNs.

Nomogram incorporating Epstein-Barr virus DNA and a novel immune-nutritional marker for survival prediction in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

“…Using a combination of these factors of immune and nutritional status, a novel indicator, LA (Lymphocytes × albumin), caught our interest. The LA, calculated by the product of lymphocytes and albumin, was first proposed in distinguish benign and malignant pancreatic cystic neoplasm [ 17 ]. Recently, it had been demonstrated that low LA was particularly related to poor survival outcomes in rectal cancer [ 18 ].…”

Commentary: The Tumor Markers and Blood Inflammation Markers Are More Likely to Be the Indicators for Differentiating Benign and Malignant Pancreatic Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms

“…We read with great interest the article by Wang et al. ( 1 ) which identified the value of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and [lymphocyte × albumin (ALB), LA] in differentiating serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) and mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs). We appreciated the great efforts that the authors made to help the management of pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs).…”