title: Molecular markers in pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
abstract: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents a fatal neoplasia with a high mortality rate. Effective early detection methods are needed since this is the best way to cure this disease. During the last several years, many investigations focused on determining relevant biomarkers that may be present during early stages of pancreatic tumor development. Although several biomarkers have been proposed for pancreatic cancer detection, the clinical applicability has been confusing. Currently, although CA19-9 is one test used, the sensitivity and specificity for the disease are less than optimal. Here, we review several new potential serum, plasma and stool markers that are currently under evaluation. Although these have not been sufficiently validated for routine clinical use, these markers could prove valuable with further investigations. We keep the hope that a combination of some of these novel biomarkers can be a useful tool for early PDAC diagnosis before image techniques and/or patient's symptoms reveal disease in an incurable state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Donostia/Instituto Biodonostia, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU, San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herreros-Villanueva
authors.forename: Meritxel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gironella
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castells
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bujanda
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor