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Salleh et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2020;6:31 Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.20517/2394-4722.2020.70 Metastasis and Treatment

Review Open Access

Exploiting the relevance of CA 19-9 in pancreatic
cancer

Syaza Salleh, Anita Thyagarajan, Ravi P. Sahu

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Boonshoft School of Medicine Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA
Correspondence to: Dr. Ravi P. Sahu, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Boonshoft School of Medicine Wright State
University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA. E-mail: ravi.sahu@wright.edu

How to cite this article: Salleh S, Thyagarajan A, Sahu RP. Exploiting the relevance of CA 19-9 in pancreatic cancer. J Cancer
Metastasis Treat 2020;6:31. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2020.70

Received: 1 Jul 2020 First Decision: 29 Jul 2020 Revised: 14 Aug 2020 Accepted: 27 Aug 2020 Published: 17 Sep 2020

Academic Editor: Lucio Miele Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths
in the United States. It has a poor prognosis and remains a difficulty to treat malignancy. Over the past several
decades, significant efforts have been directed towards developing new approaches to enhance the efficacy of
therapeutic regimens for PDAC treatment. In recent years, the measurement of serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9
(CA 19-9) has become one of the most validated and extensively used tumour biomarkers for PDAC. In particular,
serum CA 19-9 levels have been explored as a validated tool to predict either the signs of disease progression
or the response to treatment. However, despite its clinical relevance, the implications on diagnosis or accurately
predicting tumour resectability, and monitoring disease symptoms in PDAC patients remains limited. This current
review highlights the recent updates on the applicability of CA 19-9, its exploitation, and challenges in predicting
the treatment efficacy and responses in PDAC patients.

Keywords: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, tumour biomarker, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, treatment efficacy

INTRODUCTION
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) currently represents the fourth leading cause of cancer-related
mortality, and is associated with a poor prognosis and a median survival of 6-9 months [1-3] . Research
into an effective treatment option for pancreatic cancer has long eluded the global research community.
The majority of patients are usually diagnosed at advanced or metastatic stages where tumour cells have

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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