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Significance of Circulating Galectin-3 in Patients with Pancreatobiliary Cancer
Tatsuo Shimura1, Masahiko Shibata2, Kenji Gonda2
1Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic and Transplant Surgery, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan tshimura@fmu.ac.jp.
Background/Aim:
Pancreatobiliary cancer is a disease associated with a dismal prognosis and limited treatment options. The aim of the present study was to clarify the usefulness of circulating galectin-3 in pancreatobiliary cancer.
Patients And Methods:
We examined serum galectin-3 concentrations in 45 patients with pancreatobiliary cancer. Receiver operating characteristic curves were utilized to evaluate the accuracy of circulating galectin-3 to discriminate pancreatobiliary cancer patients from controls and predict the prognostic outcomes.
Results:
Circulating galectin-3 had diagnostic value at the cut-off level of 6.2 ng/ml, and the patients' overall survival was predictable at the cut-off level of 10.3 ng/ml. Furthermore, circulating galectin-3 ≥10.3 ng/ml was an independent prognostic marker in pancreatobiliary cancer. Regarding biliary cancer, higher galectin-3 was associated with malnutrition. On the other hand, regarding pancreatic cancer, higher galectin-3 levels were associated with higher inflammatory parameters.
Conclusion:
Galectin-3 can be a useful biomarker in patients with pancreatobiliary cancer.
