1191 Novel Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Chronic Pancreatitis: An Exploratory Case-Control Study

Abstract

Abstract Aim Chronic pancreatitis is a complex inflammatory syndrome with manifestations including abdominal pain, malnutrition, and diabetes. Early recognition is necessary for optimal management; however this remains clinically challenging and there are no established biomarkers for diagnosis. This exploratory study aims to determine the expression of a set of fibrosis-related serum biomarkers in patients with chronic pancreatitis relative to controls. Method Participants were recruited from specialist outpatient clinics at a single centre. Ethical approval was granted via the institutional biobank. Cases were defined as adult patients with a radiological and/or histological diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Controls were adult patients with no history of pancreatic disease. Blood samples were collected from each participant and the serum concentrations of candidate biomarkers measured in duplicate by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results In cases (n = 17; median age 53 years) compared to controls (n = 4; median age 54 years), the mean serum concentration of osteoactivin was 39.32 ng/ml vs. 18.70 ng/ml (2.1 fold); fibronectin was 512.33 μg/ml vs. 328.83 μg/ml (1.6 fold), osteopontin was 8.19 ng/ml vs. 7.47 ng/ml (1.1 fold), vimentin was 637.94 ng/ml vs. 562.14 ng/ml (1.1 fold), TIMP1 was 0.25 μg/ml vs. 0.23 μg/ml (1.0 fold) and osteonectin was 3.8 μg/ml vs. 4.71 μg/ml (0.8 fold). Conclusions This pilot study demonstrated differential expression of several fibrosis-related serum biomarkers in patients with chronic pancreatitis compared to controls. An expanded study will aim to establish the utility of these biomarkers for the early diagnosis of this condition.