Utility of chromogranin B compared with chromogranin A as a biomarker in Japanese patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
OBJECTIVE
Currently, serum chromogranin A is a well-established biomarker for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; however, other pancreatic diseases, oral use of a proton pump inhibitor and renal impairment can affect chromogranin A. Meanwhile, chromogranin B, belonging to the same granin family as chromogranin A, is not fully examined in these conditions. The present study aimed to evaluate the utility of chromogranin B as a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor biomarker.


METHODS
Serum chromogranin B levels were determined by radioimmunoassay and serum chromogranin A levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (n = 91) and other pancreatic conditions, and in healthy people (n = 104), to assess the relationships with clinical features.


RESULTS
The diagnostic ability of chromogranin B was as good as chromogranin A. The area under the curve was 0.79 for chromogranin B (sensitivity/specificity: 72%/77%), and 0.78 for chromogranin A (sensitivity/specificity: 79%/64%). Chromogranin B was not affected by proton pump inhibitor use and age, which affected chromogranin A. The number of cases without liver metastases was larger in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor patients with positive chromogranin B and negative chromogranin A. Though chromogranin A significantly elevated cases with proton pump inhibitor treatment and had positive correlation with age, chromogranin B did not have the tendencies. However, both chromogranin B and chromogranin A elevated in the case with renal impairment. In addition, the logistic regression analysis showed that chromogranin B was superior to chromogranin A in differentiation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor from other pancreatic diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with chromogranin A, chromogranin B may be more useful during proton pump inhibitor treatment and can detect tumors without liver metastases. In addition, chromogranin B may be an excellent biomarker when differentiation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor from other pancreatic diseases is required.
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Masami
M
Miki
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Tetsuhide
T
Ito
Department of Gastroenterology, Fukuoka Higashi Medical Centre, Fukuoka.
Masayuki
M
Hijioka
Department of Gastroenterology, Japan Organization of Occupational Health and Safety, Kyushu Rosai Hospital, Fukuoka.
Lingaku
L
Lee
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Kohei
K
Yasunaga
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Keijiro
K
Ueda
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Takashi
T
Fujiyama
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Yuichi
Y
Tachibana
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.
Ken
K
Kawabe
Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
Robert T
RT
Jensen
Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka.|Department of Molecular Endocrinology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Yoshihiro
Y
Ogawa
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D053379:Chromogranin A / Q000097:blood*; D053378:Chromogranin B / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005755:Gastrins / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012372:ROC Curve; D055815:Young Adult
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053379:Chromogranin A; D053378:Chromogranin B; D005755:Gastrins; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors
chromogranin A; chromogranin B; pancreatic diseases; pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors