CA19-9, CEA and PIVKA-Ⅱ as a novel panel of serum markers for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Aim

This retrospective study was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of a combination of carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-Ⅱ (PIVKA-II) in pancreatic cancer.

Methods

Clinical data were collected from 111 pancreatic cancer patients and 158 patients with benign pancreatic diseases (BPD). Serum CA19-9, CEA and PIVKA-II were subjected to receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis alone and in combination for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Results

Serum CA19-9, CEA, and PIVKA-II were higher in pancreatic cancer patients than in BPD patients (P < 0.001). ROC analysis indicated that the cutoff values were 99.390 for CA19-9, 3.065 for CEA, and 42.965 for PIVKA-II, at which the positive rate in pancreatic cancer was 78.38 % for CA19-9, 43.24 % for CEA and 48.65 % for PIVKA-Ⅱ. When serum CA19-9, CEA, and PIVKA-II were used alone, the areas under the curves (AUC), sensitivity and specificity were 0.821, 68.47 % and 89.24 % for CA19-9, 0.763, 61.26 % and 85.44 % for CEA, and 0.681, 45.95 % and 87.34 % for PIVKA-II. When serum CA19-9, CEA, and PIVKA-II were used in combination, the positivity rate was 94.59 % in pancreatic cancer with AUC of 0.903, sensitivity of 81.10 % and specificity of 88.00 %.

Conclusion

PIVKA-II is a potential serum marker of pancreatic cancer and the combination of CA19-9, CEA, and PIVKA-II is a novel panel of serum markers with promising diagnostic value for pancreatic cancer.