Serum mesothelin and megakaryocyte potentiating factor in pancreatic and biliary cancers

Abstract Background: Tumor mesothelin overexpression is present in different malignancies, including the majority of patients with pancreatic or biliary cancers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of shed serum mesothelin and megakaryocyte potentiating factor (MPF) concentrations as biomarkers for these cancers. Methods: A total of 151 individuals, divided into five groups, were retrospectively analyzed: healthy donors (n=15), patients with benign non-pancreatic conditions (n=52), benign pancreatic conditions (n=33), biliary carcinoma (n=9), and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (n=42). Mesothelin and MPF concentrations were measured in serum with the MesomarkTM and Human MPF ELISA, respectively. Results: Mesothelin and MPF concentrations did not signifi­c­antly differ among the five individual participant groups (p=0.34, p=0.33, respectively), nor did any other combination and pair-wise comparison of the participant groups demonstrated a significant difference in biomarker concentrations....