Press Release

25.10.2017

SCCA and SCCA-IgM for the diagnosis of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma

During the Liver Meeting 2017 that ended yesterday in Washington DC, Gringeri et al. presented a study on SCCA and SCCA-IgM as biomarkers of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA).

The researchers analysed the markers’ levels in serum and bile samples from 32 patients: 19 with pCCA and 13 without. They found that both SCCA and SCCA-IgM were higher in patients with pCCA compared to controls. Using a cut-off of 3.1 ng/mL and 160 AU/mL, respectively, 57.1% of pCCA patients were positive for SCCA, while 21.4% were positive for SCCA-IgM. In addition, those positive for the biomarkers had shorter survival (144 vs. 614 days).

These results show that SCCA and its immune-complex SCCA-IgM are promising biomarkers for pCCA diagnosis.

The study was led by Prof. Cillo’s group at the Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, Hepatology Transplant Unit in Padua’s University Hospital, Italy.

The abstract of the study can be downloaded HERE.