Exosomal glypican-1 for risk stratification of pancreatic cystic lesions: A case of pathological progression in the absence of any suspicious imaging finding

Abstract

The clinical management of patients with pancreatic cystic lesions is of utmost importance to identify those at high risk for pathological progression. Current recommendations are guided by clinical presentation and radiologic criteria, but the results fall short for a disease that the only curative option is surgical resection. There is an urgent need for the introduction of biomarkers that can help in risk assessment of such lesions. We report a case of a pancreatic cystic lesion without imagiological findings suggestive of advanced disease, and high levels of a circulating biomarker, glypican-1 (GPC-1), which parallel those of patients with pancreatic cancer. One year after, the patient revealed malignant progression at follow-up. Our report is unprecedented in the literature. It describes a clinical case in which a biomarker was positive for a patient that only showed progression one year after its detection. This clinical information goes beyond the current knowledge in the field because it shows that the introduction of liquid biopsy and biomarkers is a highly promising clinical tool for the non-invasive assessment of pancreatic cancer precursor lesions, ultimately increasing the rate of patients eligible for surgical resection.

Keywords: Cancer screening; Glypican-1; Neoplastic biomarkers; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic cystic lesions.