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.