Pancreatic Cancer Insights: Optimization of the Diagnostic Capacity of Tumor Biomarkers.

Objective: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest malignancies. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA19.

Utility and importance of accurate Hb A2 measurements for defining a strategy for β-thalassemia screening: experience in the Balearic Islands, Spain.

The high heterogeneity in regional profiles of β-thalassemia (β-thal) mutations highlights the need for population-specific carrier detection strategies. Our aim was to analyze the relationship between hematological values and β(0) and β(+) mutations in 154 Balearic β-thal heterozygotes, in order to establish the most optimized mutation carrier detection strategy to be used to manage the disease in our population. The Hb A2 level was the best parameter for discriminating between both types of carriers.

Effect of co-inheritance of β-thalassemia and hemochromatosis mutations on iron overload.

Co-inheritance of mutations in the HFE gene underlying hereditary hemocromatosis (HH) may play a role in the variability of iron status in patients with β-thalassemia (β-thal) minor. Different studies have yielded conflicting results: some suggest iron overload might arise from the interaction of the β-thal trait with homozygosity or even heterozygosity for HFE mutations and others that it was unrelated to the HFE genotype. Because of the high frequency of HFE mutations in the Balearic Islands, where the β-thal trait is also moderately common, it is of interest to evaluate the effect of the co-inheritance of mutations in both genes on the severity of iron loading.