BMC Gastroenterology (Feb 2012)

Diagnostic accuracy of cyst fluid amphiregulin in pancreatic cysts

  • Tun May T,
  • Pai Reetesh K,
  • Kwok Shirley,
  • Dong Aiwen,
  • Gupta Aparna,
  • Visser Brendan C,
  • Norton Jeff A,
  • Poultsides George A,
  • Banerjee Subhas,
  • Van Dam Jacques,
  • Chen Ann M,
  • Friedland Shai,
  • Scott Brennan A,
  • Verma Rahul,
  • Lowe Anson W,
  • Park Walter G

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-12-15
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
p. 15

Abstract

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Abstract Background Accurate tests to diagnose adenocarcinoma and high-grade dysplasia among mucinous pancreatic cysts are clinically needed. This study evaluated the diagnostic utility of amphiregulin (AREG) as a pancreatic cyst fluid biomarker to differentiate non-mucinous, benign mucinous, and malignant mucinous cysts. Methods A single-center retrospective study to evaluate AREG levels in pancreatic cyst fluid by ELISA from 33 patients with a histological gold standard was performed. Results Among the cyst fluid samples, the median (IQR) AREG levels for non-mucinous (n = 6), benign mucinous (n = 15), and cancerous cysts (n = 15) were 85 pg/ml (47-168), 63 pg/ml (30-847), and 986 pg/ml (417-3160), respectively. A significant difference between benign mucinous and malignant mucinous cysts was observed (p = 0.025). AREG levels greater than 300 pg/ml possessed a diagnostic accuracy for cancer or high-grade dysplasia of 78% (sensitivity 83%, specificity 73%). Conclusion Cyst fluid AREG levels are significantly higher in cancerous and high-grade dysplastic cysts compared to benign mucinous cysts. Thus AREG exhibits potential clinical utility in the evaluation of pancreatic cysts.