Highly Accurate Identification of Cystic Precursor Lesions of Pancreatic Cancer Through Targeted Mass Spectrometry: A Phase IIc Diagnostic Study

Abstract

Purpose Pancreatic cystic lesions are common incidental findings on imaging, but up to half may be forerunners of pancreatic cancer. Therefore, accurate differential diagnosis is crucial for correct patient management. Unfortunately, currently available diagnostic methods cannot robustly identify premalignant and malignant pancreatic cystic lesions. Methods Cyst fluid samples obtained by routine endoscopic ultrasound-guided aspiration were used for the analyses. In a cohort of 24 patients, eight biomarker candidates for malignant potential and high-grade dysplasia/cancer were identified by an explorative proteomic approach. Subsequently, a quantitative analysis, using 30 heavy-labeled peptides from the biomarkers and parallel reaction monitoring mass spectrometry, was devised, tested in a training cohort of 80, and prospectively evaluated in a validation cohort of 68 patients. End points were surgical pathology diagnosis/clinical follow-up. Diagnostic assessments were blinded to mass spectrometry results. Results The optimal set of markers for detecting malignant potential was a panel of peptides from mucin-5AC and mucin-2, which could discriminate premalignant/malignant lesions from benign with an accuracy of 97% (95% CI, 89% to 99%) in the validation cohort. This result compared favorably with the accuracy of standard analyses: cyst fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (61%; 95% CI, 46% to 74%; P < .001) and cytology (84%; 95% CI, 71% to 92%; P = .02). A combination of proteins mucin-5AC and prostate stem-cell antigen could identify high-grade dysplasia/cancer with an accuracy of 96% (95% CI, 90% to 99%), and detected 95% of malignant/severely dysplastic lesions, compared with 35% and 50% for carcinoembryonic antigen and cytology ( P < .001 and P = .003, respectively). Conclusion Targeted mass spectrometry analysis of just three cyst fluid biomarkers provides highly accurate identification and assessment of cystic precursors to pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Additional studies should determine whether the method can facilitate timely cancer diagnosis, successful intervention, and prevention.