Effectiveness of Photodynamic Screening Using 5-Aminolevulinic Acid for the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Background/Aim: We evaluated urinary levels of porphyrin metabolites, such as uroporphyrin (UP) and coproporphyrin (CP), after 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) administration in patients with or without pancreatic cancer (PaC). Patients and Methods: Sixty-seven subjects with PaC, 11 with pancreatitis, and 9 with normal pancreas (NP) were enrolled. Urine samples from all subjects were collected prior to ALA administration and at more than 4 hours after ALA administration. We measured the urinary levels of UP and CP by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Results: The PaC group showed significantly higher UP levels compared to NP groups (104.9 nmol/g Cre vs. 53.4 nmol/g Cre, p=0.014). Moreover, PaC patients with long-term survival had significantly lower urinary levels of UP at diagnosis (98.8 nmol/gCre) than the short-term survival group (125.2 nmol/gCre) (p=0.042). Conclusion: The urinary levels of UP after ALA administration might serve as a promising biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis prediction of PaC.