Abstract
To confirm that the carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA 19.9) protein can be evaluated by determining changes in the β2 zone in protein electrophoresis. A total of 75 patients (64 with cancer, 11 with benign diseases) with abnormal serum CA 19.9 level were included. Patients with cancer had significantly higher serum CA 19.9 concentrations than those with benign diseases (p<0.001). Similar CA 19.9 levels were observed in patients with normal (median 1129 U/ml), weakly positive (median 699 U/ml) and positive (2333 U/ml) β2 fraction in protein electrophoresis. In contrast, changes in the protein pattern of the β2 fraction were related to an inflammatory pattern with significantly higher C-reactive protein concentration (p<0.0001), independently of serum CA 19.9 level. The intensity of the β2 fraction in protein electrophoresis is related to inflammation and not to CA 19.9 in patients with cancer or other diseases.
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