Serum chemokine CXCL8 as a better biomarker for diagnosis and prediction of pancreatic cancer than its specific receptor CXCR2, C-reactive protein, and classic tumor markers CA 19-9 and CEA

Introduction Novel biomarkers are critically needed to improve the management of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC).
Objectives We aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum CXCL8 in relation to its specific receptor CXCR2 in the diagnosis and prediction of PC compared with classic tumor markers (carbohydrate antigen 19-9 [CA 19-9] and carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA]) and C-reactive protein (CRP).
Patients and methods The study included 76 subjects: 42 patients with PC and 34 healthy volunteers. Serum protein levels were measured by immunological methods.
Results Serum CXCL8 and CXCR2 concentrations were significantly higher in PC patients compared with healthy controls, similarly to classic tumor markers and CRP. CXCL8 levels were significantly elevated in patients with lymph node metastasis compared with individuals without nodal involvement. The diagnostic sensitivity, accuracy, negative predictive value, and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for CXCL8 were higher than those for CXCR2, CRP, CA 19-9, and CEA. Moreover, serum CXCL8 was the only significant predictor of PC risk.
Conclusions Our findings indicate the significance of the CXCL8–CXCR2 axis in the pathogenesis of PC. Serum CXCL8 is emerging as the strongest candidate for a potential PC biomarker among all proteins tested.