Estimation of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 levels in pure pancreatic juice of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 levels in pure pancreatic juice from patients with pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis, and other diseases were determined, and their clinical value was assessed. CA 19-9 levels in pancreatic juice were generally very high, compared with those in serum. In addition, the pancreatic juice CA 19-9 levels in patients with pancreatic cancer were significantly higher than those in patients with chronic pancreatitis and other various diseases used as controls. The assay of pancreatic juice CA 19-9 seemed to be valuable in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, showing a diagnostic value approximately similar to that of the serum CA 19-9 assay and clearly superior to that of the serum or pancreatic juice carcinoembryonic antigen assay.