Urinary biomarkers analysis as a diagnostic tool for early detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: Molecular quantification approach

Background and aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is infrequent. Currently, non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of PDAC are not accessible. Here, we intended to identify a set of urine markers able to discriminate patients with early-stage PDAC from healthy individuals. Patients and methods: Seventy-five urine samples from PDAC patients and 50 healthy controls were assayed using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The chosen biomarkers were lymphatic vessel endothelial HA receptor (LYVE-1), regenerating islet-derived 1 alpha (REG1A), and trefoil factor family (TFF1). Results: LYVE-1, REG1A, and TFF1 expression in PDAC proved to be significantly elevated compared to healthy individuals (p < 0.05). Determination of these markers' expression might be useful for early tumor diagnosis with a sensitivity of 96 %, 100 %, and 73.33 % respectively, and a specificity of 100 %, 82 %, and 100 % respectively. Conclusion: We have recognized three diagnostic biomarkers REG1A, TFF1, and LYVE1 that can detect patients with early-stage pancreatic cancer in non-invasive urine specimens with improved sensitivity and specificity. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no prior investigations examining the mRNA expression levels of them in urine within the Egyptian population.