膵癌における血清elastase1の特徴的動態

Diagnostic significance of serum immunoreactive elastase 1 (IRE) in pancreatic cancerwas evaluated in 53 patients with pancreatic cancer. Frequency of abnormally high serum IRElevels in pancreatic cancer was 66.0%; 87.0% in head cancer (N =23), 55.0% in body & tail cancer(N = 20) and 40% in diffuse cancer (N = 10). Serum IRE level in resectable cancer was significantlyhigher than that in unresectable cancer. Comparative studies of serum pancreatic enzymesrevealed that serum IRE was the most sensitive marker for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Thecharacteristic behavior of serum IRE throughout the course of pancreatic cancer was thatabnormally high levels of IRE are maintained for a longer period of time when compared to thatof pancreatitis. In the comparative study of serum IRE and CA19-9, of the 9 cases of pancreaticcancer with CA19-9 levels less than lOOU/ml, 7 showed abnormally high values of IRE, and ofthese 4 were resectable. / These results indicate that in order to detect early pancreatic cancer, any elevation of serumIRE before CA19-9 increase should be noted with care, and patients who particularly showelevated IRE values for more than one month should be subjected to more extensive morphologicalexaminations.