Role of the hematopoietic cytokines SCF, IL-3, GM-CSF and M-CSF in the diagnosis of pancreatic and ampullary cancer.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated altered levels of hematopoietic cytokines in the serum of patients with different types of cancer.

Methods: We measured the serum levels of the hematopoietic cytokines stem cell factor (SCF), interleukin 3 (IL-3), macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in 40 pancreatic and ampullary cancer patients and 40 healthy volunteers, using ELISA. We also assessed the most widely used pancreatic tumor markers, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), in both groups.