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

Objectives: 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.