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| Edited By: |Source: ANI |Updated: Feb 04, 2010, 02:49 PM IST
Scientists from Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers Centre have identified an inflammatory marker that may help detect pancreatic cancer in obese patients.
Studies have shown that obesity is correlated with inflammation. Similarly, studies have also shown that inflammation contributes to the tumour progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA).
They sought to determine whether monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) could serve as a marker for pancreatic cancer, and a differentiation marker between benign and malignant lesions.
The team led by Dr Hwyda Arafat, associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, analyzed the MCP-1 levels in serum samples obtained from patients with confirmed PDA or intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN).
They found that the levels of MCP-1 were significantly elevated in extremely obese patients.
In the less obese population (BMI < 37.5), the MCP-1 levels were elevated only in patients with PDA.
In the patients who had IPMN, high levels of MCP-1 also correlated with older age.
"MCP-1 has potential as a biomarker for pancreatic cancer, but this needs to be confirmed in a larger sample size," Arafat said.
"Further study of this protein in a larger sample size and different benign and unresectable malignant lesions is needed.
Understanding the nature of the relationship of its elevation with age and the highest levels of obesity will assist with the full development of the potential clinical usage of this marker," Arafat added.
The study was presented at the 5th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, held in San Antonio.
