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Salleh et al. J Cancer Metastasis Treat 2020;6:31 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-4722.2020.70 Page 7 of 9

combination of TFFs with CA19-9 appeared to be a potential diagnostic tool for distinguishing between
early-stage pancreatic cancer, benign controls, and chronic pancreatitis. Notably, the sensitivity of CA
[52]
19-9 was improved by its combination with TFFs . In addition, the combination of TFFs and CA 19-9
was associated with an increased overall efficacy of CA 19-9 to discriminate early pancreatic cancer from
chronic pancreatitis, which indicated the exceptional capabilities of TFFs to differentiate this highly
aggressive disease at the early stages of progression.

CONCLUSION
Based on the findings of various studies, CA 19-9 has proven to be an essential tool in the diagnosis of
pancreatic cancer, and most importantly in monitoring patient responses to various treatment modalities.
The validation of CA 19-9 as exhibiting excellent parameters, such as higher sensitivity and specificity
compared to other biomarkers, has confirmed its potential as a promising clinical tool in this field.
However, despite its undeniable benefits in the predictive analysis of treatment efficacy and responses in
PDAC patients, there are still a number of limitations that warrant further investigation in the future.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Involved in the writing, editing, revising, and approving the final version of the manuscript: Salleh S,
Thyagarajan A, Sahu RP

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020.

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