Selecting Tumor-Specific Molecular Targets in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Paving the Way for Image-Guided Pancreatic Surgery

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify suitable molecular targets for tumor-specific imaging of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. PROCEDURES: The expression of eight potential imaging targets was assessed by the target selection criteria (TASC)-score and immunohistochemical analysis in normal pancreatic tissue (n = 9), pancreatic (n = 137), and periampullary (n = 28) adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, these biomarkers were expressed in respectively 88 %, 71 %, 69 %, and 67 % of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients. CONCLUSIONS: , CEA, EGFR, and uPAR are suitable targets for tumor-specific imaging of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.