Elevated systemic levels of the matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor TIMP-1 correlate with clinical markers of cachexia in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
In vivo, adenoviral delivery of TIMP1 or TIMP2 to nude mice harboring intraperitoneal human pancreatic cancers resulted in prolonged survival compared with control mice if the gene therapy was given early (P<.009 and P<.0293, respectively).
However, a combination of individually suboptimal markers (TIMP-1, CA19-9, and carcinoembryonic antigen) detected 60% of 85 patients with pancreatic cancers in a highly specific manner.