Ricerc@Sapienza

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal malignancy: the majority of patients have locally advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis since signs and symptoms are mostly non specific and often evident only in late stages. Due to the crucial importance of an earlier identification of PC, there is substantial ongoing effort to identify serological biomarkers that would facilitate the timely detection of this malignant neoplasm. Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence II (PIVKA-II) is an abnormal form of prothrombin released by the liver in absence of vitamin K(VK) or in presence of certain types of gastrointestinal malignancy. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested anti-carcinogenic effects exerted by VK both directly and indirectly through post-translational activation of proteins such as PIVKA-II. In the last years it has been well established in literature that PIVKA-II plays an important role as a biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Like the liver, the pancreas originate from the primitive foregut of the embryo, and it has been demonstrated that these organs have the capability to transdifferentiate into each other tissue. According to these recent findings, aim of this study is to analyze serum levels of PIVKA-II in PC patients, in order to determine its potential diagnostic relevance for this malignancy. For this purpose will be enrolled a total of 100 Caucasian subjects: 30 patients with PC, 30 patients with pancreatic benign disease and 40 healthy controls matched for age and sex. PIVKA- II serum concentrations will be tested by the electrochemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay method (CLEIA) on LUMIPULSE G1200 (Fujirebio-Europe, Belgium). PIVKA-II serum level will be related to the histopathological characterization of the pancreatic lesion. Moreover, patients will be screened for tumor markers currently used in PC (CA19.9, CA242, CEA). Statistical analyses will be performed by MedCalc V 4.30 Software (Italy).