The evaluation of CA 19‐9 antigen level in the early detection of pancreatic cancer: A prospective study of 866 patients

Abstract

To establish if CA 19‐9 could detect early pancreatic cancer, we measured its serum concentration in 866 patients admitted for benign diseases and observed for 2 years. All patients with an elevated CA 19‐9 level (>40 units (U)/ml) were submitted to a computed tomography (CT) scan of the pancreas. The CA 19‐9 level was increased in 117 patients. One hundred fifteen of these 117 patients had false‐positive elevations. The CA 19‐9 concentration was elevated mostly in benign hepatobiliary diseases. In this group of patients, CA 19‐9 was correlated to alkaline phosphase values. Eleven patients showed an elevated CA 19‐9 level for 10 months without any malignancy developing. One patient had a normal CA 19‐9 concentration 8 months before clinical signs of pancreatic carcinoma developed. We conclude that CA 19‐9 measurement is of no value for the early detection of this malignancy. Copyright © 1988 American Cancer Society