The clinical value of tumor marker CA_(19-9)and CA_(242)in pancreatic cancer

Objective To investigate the value of CA19-9 and CA 242 in the diagnosis of the pancreatic cancer.Methods 43 patients (from April 2002 to September 2005)with pancreatic cancer in our hospital were divided into two groups (group A and group B) according to the patients’ condition; the levels of CA 19-9 and CA 242 of the patients were measured by immunoradiometric assay. 54 patients with benign pancreatic diseases were chosen as control group, the data were analyzed retrospectively.Results The measured value and positive rate of CA 19-9 and CA 242 in malignant group were obviously higher than those in benign group (P0.01). The two tumor markers rarely elevated in patients with benign diseases (false positive rate of CA 19-9 was 7.4%,CA 242 was 5.6%).The levels of the two tumor markers and positive rate at late stage were higher than those at early stage.Conclusion CA19-9 and CA242 are valuable tumor markers in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, they have important clinical value for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic diseases.