Elevated serum CA72-4 levels predict poor prognosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma after intensity-modulated radiation therapy

Carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) is a human tumor-associated glycoprotein, commonly used as a tumor marker for diagnosing and predicting outcome in gastric and ovarian cancers. However, the relationship between serum CA72-4 levels and prognosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma has not been fully elucidated. A total of 113 consecutive locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients who underwent intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy were enrolled in this study. Serum CA72-4 levels were analyzed using immunoenzymometric assays. The association between serum CA72-4 levels and prognosis was evaluated. Serum CA72-4 levels was related with lymph node metastasis (P<0.001). The median overall survival time was 14.0 months for patients with serum CA72-4 normal levels and 10.0 months for the elevated levels (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis identified that Serum CA72-4 concentration was a significant prognostic factor (P<0.001). The hazard ratio (HR) of elevated serum CA72-4 levels compared with normal serum CA72-4 levels was 2.34 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.46-3.73), after adjusted for gender and age. Based on this finding, Serum CA72-4 is a potential marker to predict lymph node metastasis and prognosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.