Brief Reports
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2005. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 7, 2005; 11(33): 5199-5202
Published online Sep 7, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i33.5199
Novel serum tumor marker, RCAS1, in pancreatic diseases
Koji Yamaguchi, Munechika Enjoji, Manabu Nakashima, Makoto Nakamuta, Takashi Watanabe, Masao Tanaka
Koji Yamaguchi, Masao Tanaka, Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyushu University, Japan
Munechika Enjoji, Makoto Nakamuta, Medicine Bioregulatory Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan
Manabu Nakashima, Takashi Watanabe, Department of Molecular Immunology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Japan
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Koji Yamaguchi, MD, Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
Telephone: +81-92-642-5438 Fax: +81-92-642-5457
Received: November 12, 2004
Revised: February 15, 2005
Accepted: February 18, 2005
Published online: September 7, 2005
Abstract

AIM: As tumor markers for pancreatic carcinoma, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 have been used, but the sensitivity and specificity are not enough for the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma.

METHODS: A novel serum tumor marker, RCAS1, was compared with two conventional serum tumor markers, CEA (highly specific for pancreatic cancer) and CA 19-9 (highly sensitive for pancreatic cancer), in 48 patients with pancreatic exocrine tumors.

RESULTS: When the diagnosis of benign or malignant conditions was examined by one tumor marker, the sensitivity of RCAS1 alone (55%) was higher than that of CEA alone (27%) and the specificity of RCAS1 alone (92%) was greater than that of CA19-9 alone (78%). When examined by a combination of two markers, the sensitivity of a combination of RCAS1 and CA19-9 (95%) was superior to those of CA19-9 alone (78%), RCAS1 alone (55%, P = 0.002), CEA alone (27%) (P<0.001), RCAS1 and CEA (59%) and CA19-9 and CEA (82%).

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the combination of RCAS1 and CA19-9 is highly sensitive for pancreatic carcinoma.

Keywords: RCAS1, CEA, CA19-9, Pancreatic diseases