BACKGROUND & AIMS: Markers to differentiate among pancreatic adenocarcinoma, chronic pancreatitis, and normal pancreas would be of significant clinical utility. This study was therefore designed to analyze the proteome of such specimens and identify new candidate proteins for differential diagnosis.

METHODS

A PowerBlot analysis with more than 900 well-characterized antibodies was performed with tissue specimens from patients with chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and normal pancreas. Differential expression of selected proteins was confirmed on a larger scale by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry using tissue arrays.

RESULTS

A total of 30 and 102 proteins showed significant deregulation between normal pancreas when compared with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, respectively, and although a substantial proportion were found similarly dysregulated in both chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma, several proteins were identified as potential disease-specific markers.

CONCLUSIONS

A large number of proteins are differentially expressed in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma compared with normal pancreas. Among these, expression analysis of UHRF1, ATP7A, and aldehyde oxidase 1 in combination could potentially provide a useful additional diagnostic tool for fine-needle aspirated or cytological specimens obtained during endoscopic investigations.