Exosomal glypican-1 is elevated in pancreatic cancer precursors and can signal genetic predisposition in the absence of endoscopic ultrasound abnormalities.

Background: Individuals within specific risk groups for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) [mucinous cystic lesions (MCLs), hereditary risk (HR), and new-late onset diabetes mellitus (NLOD)] represent an opportunity for early cancer detection. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a premium image modality for PDAC screening and precursor lesion characterization. While no specific biomarker is currently clinically available for this purpose, glypican-1 (GPC1) is overexpressed in the circulating exosomes (crExos) of patients with PDAC compared with healthy subjects or those harboring benign pancreatic diseases.

Aim: To evaluate the capacity of GPC1 crExos to identify individuals at higher risk within these specific groups, all characterized by EUS.

Methods: This cross-sectional study with a prospective unicentric cohort included 88 subjects: 40 patients with MCL, 20 individuals with HR, and 20 patients with NLOD. A control group (CG) was submitted to EUS for other reasons than pancreatic pathology, with normal pancreas and absence of hereditary risk factors ( = 8). The inclusion period was between October 2016 and January 2019, and the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Porto, Portugal. All patients provided written informed consent. EUS and blood tests for quantification of GPC1 crExos by flow cytometry and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) levels by ELISA were performed in all subjects. EUS-guided tissue acquisition was done whenever necessary. For statistical analysis, SPSS 27.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States) version was used. All graphs were created using GraphPad Prism 7.00 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, United States).

Results: Half of MCLs harbored worrisome features (WF) or high-risk stigmata (HRS). Pancreatic abnormalities were detected by EUS in 10.0% and 35.0% in HR and NLOD individuals, respectively, all considered non-malignant and "harmless." Median levels of GPC1 crExos were statistically different: MCL [99.4%, interquartile range (IQR): 94.9%-99.8%], HR (82.0%, IQR: 28.9%-98.2%), NLOD (12.6%, IQR: 5.2%-63.4%), and CG (16.2%, IQR: 6.6%-20.1%) ( < 0.0001). Median levels of CA 19-9 were within the normal range in all groups (standard clinical cut-off of 37 U/mL). Within HR, individuals with a positive history of cancer had higher median levels of GPC1 crExos (97.9%; IQR: 61.7%-99.5%), compared to those without (59.7%; IQR: 26.3%-96.4%), despite no statistical significance ( = 0.21). Pancreatic cysts with WF/HRS were statistically associated with higher median levels of GPC1 crExos (99.6%; IQR: 97.6%-99.8%) compared to those without (96.5%; IQR: 81.3%-99.5%) ( = 0.011), presenting an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.723 (sensitivity 75.0% and specificity 67.7%, using a cut-off of 98.5%; = 0.012).

Conclusion: GPC1 crExos may act as biomarker to support the diagnosis and stratification of PDAC precursor lesions, and in signaling individuals with genetic predisposition in the absence of EUS abnormalities.