Standardized peptidome profiling of human serum for the detection of pancreatic cancer.

Objective: To establish new biomarkers for accurate diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (PC) using a standardized serum peptidome profiling and compare the results with those from the tumor marker, CA 19-9.

Methods: Serum samples from 102 patients (55 with chronic pancreatitis and 47 with PC) and 56 healthy controls were collected and analyzed following a protocol that was rigorously designed to prevent preanalytical variation. Serum peptides were extracted using immobilized copper ion chromatography on a robotic platform.