The Value of CA19-9 After Irreversible Electroporation for Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) is a tumor marker for pancreatic cancer. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is an experimental treatment modality for pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether percutaneous IRE lowers the CA19-9 level in pancreatic cancer and whether this correlates with improved overall survival. Patients and Methods: Seventy-one patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer or local recurrence after resection were treated. Patients with missing data, metastatic disease and normal serum CA19-9 before IRE were excluded. This left 35 cases for analysis. Results: The median CA19-9 did not decrease in the cohort after IRE treatment (282 U/ml before versus 315 U/ml after; p=0.80). The 25th percentile of patients with the best CA19-9 response had improved overall survival compared to the 25th percentile with the worst response (mean 13.1 versus 8.1 months, respectively; p=0.01). Conclusion: IRE did not lower the level of CA19-9 in pancreatic cancer cases. However, a response in CA19-9 was correlated with improved survival.

Survival Comparison of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Followed by Irreversible Electroporation Versus Conversional Resection for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer

“…The incomplete ablation was more common in tumors with large tumor sizes, which might contribute to the inferior survival of LAPC patients after IRE treatment. Similar with previous study ( 18 ), our study also indicated that the changes of CA19-9 levels were an important reflection of tumor response of IRE. High levels of CA19-9 predicted poor survival in LAPC patients after IRE treatment.…”