Changes in Transferrin Isoforms in Pancreatic Cancer

The aim of this study was to assess the alterations in transferrin sialylation during primary pancreatic cancer, and compare these with CA19-9. Serum samples from 44 patients with pancreatic cancer and 25 healthy subjects were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis (CE) technology on a MINICAP electrophoresis system. The mean concentration of tetrasialotransferrin was significantly higher while that of pentasialotransferrin was significantly lower in cancer patients than in the controls. However, there were no significant differences in the concentrations of disialotransferrin and trisialotranferrin in pancreatic cancers. Also, total transferrin concentration did not differ between pancreatic cancer patients and control group. Neither tumor location nor TNM classification affected the concentrations of CA19-9 and transferrin isoforms with the exception of trisialotransferrin which was significantly higher in patients free of distant metastasis than in those with distant ones. The ratio of tetrasialotransferrin to pentasialotransferrin in pancreatic cancer patients was significantly higher than that in the controls. We conclude that the alterations in transferrin sialylation occur in patients with pancreatic cancer. Tetrasialotransferrin was more strongly expressed than pentasialotransferrin. Moreover, the data suggests that the alterations in transferrin glycosylation/sialylation in pancreatic cancer differ from the alterations in some other cancers.