Abstract
BackgroundDiagnosis of pancreatic cancer (Pca) is challenging. This study investigated the value of plasma-derived exosome miR-19b (Exo-miR-19b) in diagnosing patients with Pca.MethodsPlasma was collected from 62 patients with Pca, 30 patients with other pancreatic tumor (OPT), 23 patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), and 53 healthy volunteers. MiR-19b levels in plasma-derived exosomes were detected.ResultsPlasma-derived Exo-miR-19b levels normalized using miR-1228 were significantly lower in Pca patients than in patients with OPT, CP patients, and healthy volunteers. The diagnostic values of Exo-miR-19b normalized using miR-1228 were superior to those of serum cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in differentiating Pca patients from healthy volunteers (area under the curve (AUC): 0.942 vs. 0.813, p = 0.0054), potentially better than those of CA19-9 in differentiating Pca patients from CP patients (AUC: 0.898 vs. 0.792, p = 0.0720), and equivalent to those of CA19-9 in differentiating Pca patients from patients with OPT (AUC: 0.810 vs. 0.793, p = 0.8206). When normalized using Caenorhabditis elegans miR-39 (cel-miR-39), Exo-miR-19b levels in Pca patients were significantly higher than those in patients with OPT, CP patients, and healthy volunteers. The diagnostic values of Exo-miR-19b normalized using cel-miR-39 were equivalent to those of CA19-9 in differentiating Pca patients from healthy volunteers (AUC: 0.781 vs. 0.813, p = 0.6118) and CP patients (AUC: 0.672 vs. 0.792, p = 0.1235), while they were inferior to those of CA19-9 in differentiating Pca patients from patients with OPT (AUC: 0.631 vs. 0.793, p = 0.0353).ConclusionPlasma-derived Exo-miR-19b is a promising diagnostic marker for Pca. The diagnostic value of plasma-derived Exo-miR-19b normalized using miR-1228 is superior to that of serum CA19-9 in differentiating patients with Pca from healthy volunteers.
Highlights
Pancreatic cancer (Pca) is a lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of 10% and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States [1]
Plasma samples were collected from 168 individuals, including 62 Pca patients, 30 patients with other pancreatic tumor (OPT), 23 chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients, and 53 healthy volunteers
The levels of Exo-miR-19b in patients with Pca normalized using miR-1228 were significantly lower than the levels in patients with OPT, patients with CP, and healthy volunteers (p < 0.05, Figure 1A, Supplementary Material 1)
Summary
Pancreatic cancer (Pca) is a lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of 10% and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States [1]. Only serum cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is proposed for the routine management of Pca. elevated CA19-9 is observed in biliary infection or obstruction as well as other digestive cancers and inflammatory diseases and presents a moderate diagnostic value with a sensitivity and a specificity of 79% and 82%, respectively [2]. Luo et al [4] reported that 8.4% of Pca patients (N = 1482) were Lewis (−). These results indicate that diagnosis of Pca based on CA19-9 will lead to missed diagnosis, and a more accurate circulating biomarker for Pca is urgently needed. This study investigated the value of plasma-derived exosome miR-19b (Exo-miR-19b) in diagnosing patients with Pca
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