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Diagnostic accuracy of cyst fluid amphiregulin in pancreatic cysts

Diagnostic accuracy of cyst fluid amphiregulin in pancreatic cysts BMC GASTROENTEROLOGY Tun, M. T., Pai, R. K., Kwok, S., Dong, A., Gupta, A., Visser, B. C., Norton, J. A., Poultsides, G. A., Banerjee, S., Van Dam, J., Chen, A. M., Friedland, S., Scott, B. A., Verma, R., Lowe, A. W., Park, W. G. 2012; 12

Abstract

Accurate tests to diagnose adenocarcinoma and high-grade dysplasia among mucinous pancreatic cysts are clinically needed. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of amphiregulin (AREG) as a pancreatic cyst fluid biomarker to differentiate non-mucinous, benign mucinous, and malignant mucinous cysts.A single-center retrospective study to evaluate AREG levels in pancreatic cyst fluid by ELISA from 33 patients with a histological gold standard was performed.Among the cyst fluid samples, the median (IQR) AREG levels for non-mucinous (n = 6), benign mucinous (n = 15), and cancerous cysts (n = 15) were 85 pg/ml (47-168), 63 pg/ml (30-847), and 986 pg/ml (417-3160), respectively. A significant difference between benign mucinous and malignant mucinous cysts was observed (p = 0.025). AREG levels greater than 300 pg/ml possessed a diagnostic accuracy for cancer or high-grade dysplasia of 78% (sensitivity 83%, specificity 73%).Cyst fluid AREG levels are significantly higher in cancerous and high-grade dysplastic cysts compared to benign mucinous cysts. Thus AREG exhibits potential clinical utility in the evaluation of pancreatic cysts.

View details for DOI 10.1186/1471-230X-12-15

View details for PubMedID 22333441