CA 19-9 to differentiate benign and malignant masses in chronic pancreatitis: is there any benefit?

• Published in: Indian journal of gastroenterology 2009, Vol.28 (1), p.24-27
• Main Authors: Bedi, M. M. S., Gandhi, M. D., Jacob, G., Lekha, V., Venugopal, A., Ramesh, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CA-19-9 Antigen - blood; Diagnosis, Differential; Gastroenterology; Hepatology; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Pancreatic Neoplasms - blood; Pancreatic Neoplasms - diagnosis; Pancreatitis, Chronic - blood; Pancreatitis, Chronic - diagnosis; Predictive Value of Tests; Reference Values; Retrospective Studies; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity
• ISSN: 0254-8860; 0975-0711
• DOI: 10.1007/s12664-009-0005-4

Background The role of the tumor marker CA 19-9 in differentiating benign from malignant masses in chronic pancreatitis has not been extensively studied. Aim This study aims at assessing the accuracy of CA 19-9 in differentiating inflammatory head masses in chronic pancreatitis from superimposed carcinomas on chronic pancreatitis. Methods The data of 84 consecutive patients who had mass lesions in chronic pancreatitis were analyzed to determine the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values at cut-off values of 37, 100, 200 and 300 U/mL. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the sensitivity and specificity. Results There were 50 benign masses and 34 malignancies. The overall sensitivity and specificity of CA 19-9 for cancer was 68% and 70%, respectively. There was a higher positivity of CA 19-9 in cancers than in benign masses (23/34; 68% versus 15/50; 30%, P