Stem cell factor and macrophage-colony stimulating factor in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Stem cell factor (SCF) and macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) have assumed an increasing importance in cancer biology. In the present study we investigated the serum levels of these cytokines in pancreatic cancer patients in relation to controls and to patients with benign lesions of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis group). The classical tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) were also tested. We compared the serum levels of cytokines with tumor stage. We also defined the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve for cytokines and classical tumor markers. The cytokines were measured in 47 patients with pancreatic cancer, in 27 patients with chronic pancreatitis and in 35 healthy subjects. SCF and M-CSF were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). CEA and CA 19-9 were measured by microparticle enzyme immunoassay. There were significant differences in the levels of circulating SCF, M-CSF, CEA and CA 19-9 in the pancreatic cancer patients compared to the control group, but only the serum levels of M-CSF, CEA and CA 19-9 were significantly higher in pancreatic cancer patients compared to the pancreatitis group. The levels of cytokines and tumor markers were higher in patients with a more advanced tumor stage. The M-CSF serum levels correlated positively with the tested tumor markers. The M-CSF area under the ROC curve was higher than the SCF area. These results suggest that M-CSF is a better candidate for a pancreatic cancer tumor marker than SCF.