Table 4.
Published studies analyzing a correlation between pre-operative CA 19-9 serum levels and Pancreatic Cancer prognosis (1980–2010)
| Author, Year | N= | CA 19-9 cut-off levels (U/ml) | Median survival (months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sperti 1993 [38] | 15 | <1,096 | 22 (p < 0.001) |
| 15 | >1,096 | 8 | |
| Lundin 1994 [39] | 69 | <370 | 9.5 (p < 0.001) |
| 82 | >370 | 4.4 | |
| Safi et al. 1997 [22] | 89 | <400 | 17.3 (p < 0.0001) |
| 37 | >400 | 7.1 | |
| Nakao et al. 1998 [30] | 64 | <2,000 | 60 |
| 15 | >2,000 | 19 | |
| Kau et al. 1999 [31] | 7 | <35 | 36 (p < 0.028) |
| 46 | >35 | 12 | |
| Ikeda 2001 [40] | 17 | <1,000 | 10.3 (p < 0.001) |
| 38 | >1,000 | 7.2 | |
| Saad et al. 2002 [41] | 28 | <1,212 | 14.9 (p < 0.001) |
| >1,212 | 7.4 | ||
| Micke et al. 2003 [42] | 95 | <420 | 12.3 (p < 0.01) |
| >420 | 7.0 | ||
| Berger et al. 2004 [43] | 7 | Undetectable | 32 |
| 21 | ≤37 | 35 | |
| 44 | 38–200 | 22 | |
| 57 | 200 | 16 | |
| Maisey et al. 2005 [44] | 154 | <958 | 11.2 (p < 0.0004) |
| >958 | 7.5 | ||
| Ferrone et al. 2006 [24] | Median survival (years) | ||
| 66 | <37 | 2.4 (p < 0.01) | |
| 45 | >37 | 1.6 | |
| 90 | <200 | 2.3 (p < 0.001) | |
| 21 | >200 | 0.9 | |
| Smith et al. 2008 [45] | Median survival (months) | ||
| 64 | <150 | 22.1 | |
| 45 | >150 | 10.4 (p < 0.02) | |
| Waraya et al. 2009 [46] | 5-Year DSS (months) | ||
| 23 | <37 | 30.6 (p < 0.0001) | |
| 66 | >37 | 12.7 | |
| Turrini et al. 2009 [47] | 50 | <37 | 22 (p < 0.02) |
| 27 | 400–900 | 15 | |
| 26 | >900 | 12 | |
| Wasan et al. 2009 [48] | 95 | <1,096 | 12.2 (p < 0.0001) |
| >1,096 | 5.0 | ||
| Kondo et al. 2010 [26] | 3-Year survival (%) | ||
| 32 | <37 | 57 | |
| 37 | >37 | 30 | |
| 81 | <500 | 42 | |
| 28 | >500 | 13 | |
| Katz et al. (2010) [49] | Median survival (months) | ||
| 21 | <37 | 52.8 | |
| 78 | >37 | 21.2 (p < 0.02) |
Pre-operative CA 19-9 serum levels in pancreatic cancer patients correlate not only with stage of disease, but also independently predict overall survival. An undetectable level or a CA 19-9 serum level of <37 U/ml is associated with a median survival of 22–40 months compared to a median survival of 7–30 months in patients with a pre-operative CA 19-9 serum level of >37 U/ml
DSS disease specific survival, U/ml unit/milliliter