Selecting Tumor-Specific Molecular Targets in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Paving the Way for Image-Guided Pancreatic Surgery

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify suitable molecular targets for tumor-specific imaging of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. PROCEDURES: The expression of eight potential imaging targets was assessed by the target selection criteria (TASC)—score and immunohistochemical analysis in normal pancreatic tissue (n = 9), pancreatic (n = 137), and periampullary (n = 28) adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: Integrin α(v)β(6), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), and urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) showed a significantly higher (all p < 0.001) expression in pancreatic adenocarcinoma compared to normal pancreatic tissue and were confirmed by the TASC score as promising imaging targets. Furthermore, these biomarkers were expressed in respectively 88 %, 71 %, 69 %, and 67 % of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that integrin α(v)β(6), CEA, EGFR, and uPAR are suitable targets for tumor-specific imaging of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.