C. Pasquali et al., CA-50 COMPARED WITH CA-19-9 AS A SERUM TUMOR-MARKER FOR PANCREATIC-CARCINOMA, The Italian Journal of Gastroenterology, 26(4), 1994, pp. 169-173
This study compared the sensitivity and specificity of CA 50 and CA 19
-9 as serum tumour markers for pancreatic cancer. One hundred and seve
nty one subjects were evaluated: 50 healthy controls, 50 patients with
pancreatic carcinoma and 71 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Eight
y per cent of the pancreatic cancer patients had raised CA 19-9 serum
levels and 82% had raised CA 50 serum levels. In the group of patients
with chronic pancreatitis, false positive tests occurred in 8.4% for
CA 19-9 and 11.3% for CA 50. For both markers the serum level showed a
severe elevation in the advanced stage of cancer disease. Despite the
good sensitivity and specificity of CA 50 as a serum tumour marker fo
r pancreatic carcinoma, no major advantage was found compared to CA 19
-9. Moreover, if the CA 50 cut-off, level is raised to 85 U/ml to excl
ude overlap with chronic pancreatitis, sensitivity falls sharply to 46
% compared with 72% for CA 19-9 when a 100 U/ml cut-off level is used.