CHICAGO -- Testing fluid from cysts for a biomarker, an antibody called mAb Das-1, a research team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified pancreatic cysts that likely become cancerous with 95 percent accuracy, as against current clinical guidelines being only about 74 percent accurate.
In the study, the researchers collected fluid from the cysts of 169 patients who had surgery to remove the pancreatic cysts, and analyzed the fluid using a test to detect the Das-1 antibody biomarker.
The researchers found that the biomarker was more accurate than any current method at predicting cancer risk in these patients with pancreatic cysts.
In the next step, the researchers will see whether the biomarker can identify pancreatic cysts likely to become cancerous before a patient undergoes surgery.
Pancreatic cancer kills more than 45,000 people in the United States each year.
Some 2 percent to 4 percent of patients aged 50 to 70 probably have pancreatic cysts, and the percentage increases to 8 percent to 9 percent in people over the age of 80.
Although surgery is effective at removing precancerous cysts, one percent to two percent of patients who have the surgery don't survive. The rate of complications from surgery can range from 30 percent to 60 percent.
"Many cysts, if not most, probably should be left alone," said first author Koushik K. Das, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Washington University. "If we had a better biomarker, we wouldn't have to rely on imperfect clinical and radiographic information."
The study is published online Wednesday in the journal Gastroenterology. (Xinhua)
