Biomarkers Screening Between Preoperative and Postoperative Patients in Pancreatic Cancer

Objective: To investigate discriminating protein patterns and potential biomarkers in serum samples betweenpre/postoperative pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls.
Methods: 23 serum samples from PC patients(12 preoperative and 11 postoperative) and 76 from healthy controls were analyzed using matrix-assisted laserdesorption and ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technique combined with magneticbeads-based weak cation-exchange chromatography (MB-WCX). ClinProTools software selected several markersthat made a distinction between pancreatic cancer patients and healthy controls.
Results: 49 m/z distinctive peakswere found among the three groups, of which 33 significant peaks with a P < 0.001 were detected. Two proteinscould distinguish the preoperative pancreatic cancer patients from the healthy controls. About 15 proteins maybe potential biomarkers in assessment of pancreatic cancer resection.
Conclusion: MB-MALDI-TOF-MS methodcould generate serum peptidome profiles of pancreatic cancer and provide a new approach to identify potentialbiomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of this malignancy.