KRAS Mutations in Duodenal Lavage Fluid After Secretin Stimulation for Detection of Pancreatic Cancer.
OBJECTIVE: Although pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still a devastating disease, the survival rate for surgically removed PDACs has significantly improved in recent years. Early detection is essential in managing PDAC. BACKGROUND: The presence of KRAS mutations in PDAC leads to the initial genetic abnormality and offers a significant timeframe for identifying resectable PDACs. A minimally invasive and highly specific PDAC screening test is necessary to prevent the need for invasive follow-up tests. METHODS: Between July 2021 and March 2023, 169 cases were enrolled in 7 institutions. By administering secretin before esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), the excretion of pancreatic juice into the papillary fluid can be stimulated, creating a resource for testing. Washing fluid was collected using a specialized catheter from control individuals (n=75) and patients with resectable PDAC (n=89) at the initial diagnosis. A highly sensitive technique was employed to study KRAS gene mutations. RESULTS: This study obtained an AUC of 0.934 (95% CI: 0.904, 0.964) when using KRAS mutations in duodenal lavage fluid to differentiate between patients with resectable PDAC and healthy controls. The estimated sensitivities were calculated with specificity set at 100%, resulting in a sensitivity of 83.1% (95% CI: 71.7%, 91.2%). The McNemer test showed a significantly higher sensitivity for KRAS mutations than serum CEA and CA19-9 ( P <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We created a method to identify resectable PDACs by analyzing KRAS mutation levels in duodenal fluid collected during EGD with secretin stimulation of pancreatic juice secretion.