We also detected KRAS cfDNA mutations in 3.7% (N=14) of healthy controls and in 4.3% (N=6) of subjects with chronic pancreatitis, but at significantly lower allelic fractions than in cases.
Sensitive and quantitative detection of KRAS2 gene mutations in pancreatic duct juice differentiates patients with pancreatic cancer from chronic pancreatitis, potential for early detection.
Among patients with mutant KRAS2 positive cancers, all but one (94%) had mutant KRAS2 DNA concentrations of more than 0.5% in their pancreatic juice samples, whereas only 1 of 9(11%) pancreatic juice samples from patients with chronic pancreatitis had more than 0.5% mutant KRAS2 DNA, corresponding to a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 89%.
The value of K-ras gene mutation for the detection of early pancreatic cancer and differentiation pancreatic cancer from chronic pancreatitis remains uncertain in clinical practice.
At present, K-ras-2 mutation is not useful for differentiating pancreatic cancer from chronic pancreatitis or the identification of patients with chronic pancreatitis at risk for malignant transformation.
K-ras gene mutations at codon 12 were detected in the sera of 14 of 20 patients with pancreatic carcinoma and in none of the six patients with chronic pancreatitis, or in the five healthy controls.