Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Automated Multiplex Immunofluorescence Panel for Immuno-oncology Studies on Formalin-fixed Carcinoma Tissue Specimens
Published on: January 21, 2019
Optimize CA19-9 in detecting pancreatic cancer by Lewis and Secretor genotyping
Guopei Luo1, Meng Guo1, Kaizhou Jin1
1Department of Pancreas Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, China; Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, China.
Background:
Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is currently the most widely used biomarker for pancreatic cancer. It is well-known that Lewis and Secretor status can affect CA19-9 biosynthesis. This study was performed to optimize CA19-9 in detecting pancreatic cancer using Lewis and Secretor dependent cut-off values.
Methods:
Lewis and Secretor genotypes were determined by Sanger sequencing in a large cohort of subjects (578 cases with pancreatic cancer, 210 cases with benign pancreatic disease, 315 normal subjects). The effectiveness of CA19-9 for detecting pancreatic cancer using Lewis and Secretor group dependent cut-off values was evaluated.
Results:
The Lewis (-), Mixed, and Secretor (-) groups had low, medium, and high CA19-9 biosynthesis, respectively. In Lewis (-) pancreatic cancer (all stages), CA19-9 had a sensitivity of 48.6% and a specificity of 95.9% when 1.8 U/mL was used as the cut-off value. The sensitivity of CA19-9 in detecting all stages of pancreatic cancer improved from 80.1% to 88.0% and the negative predictive value increased from 81.2% to 87.1% without compromising other values when using group dependent cut-off values. The sensitivity of CA19-9 for the detection of stage I, II pancreatic cancer increased from 76.1% to 87.2%.
Conclusions:
The value of CA19-9 in detecting pancreatic cancer was optimized by using group dependent cut-off values based on Lewis and Secretor genotypes. CA19-9 can be applied as an early detector of pancreatic cancer using group dependent cut-off values.
