Adiponectin as a potential differential marker to distinguish pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis.

UNLABELLED Serum adiponectin (ADP) levels are reported inversely related to the risk in breast, endometrial cancer, and gastric cancer. Serum ADP as a potential marker compared with CA-19-9 in pancreatic carcinoma (PC) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) was studied. Adiponectin and CA-19-9 levels were examined at the time of diagnosis in patients with CP and PC. METHODS Serum ADP and CA-19-9 levels were measured by immunoassays in 72 patients with PC and 39 with CP and 290 control subjects. RESULTS The median levels of ADP for PC were significantly higher than those for CP and control subjects (P = 0.0035). Increasing the upper reference value of ADP allowed for better discrimination between CP and PC. The introduction of 28 ng/mL as a cutoff for ADP significantly improved its specificity. At an elevated cutoff level for ADP (28 ng/mL), a better discrimination between PC and CP was obtained. CONCLUSIONS Adiponectin might be useful in the differential diagnosis of PC and CP with elevated CA-19-9. This gives rise to the possibility that ADP has a potential role in differentiating CP and PC.