Pancreatic Cancer Biomarkers and Uses Thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure includes biomarkers, methods, devices, reagents, systems, and kits for the detection and diagnosis of cancer generally and pancreatic cancer specifically. In one aspect, the disclosure provides biomarkers that can be used alone or in various combinations to diagnose cancer generally or pancreatic cancer specifically. In another aspect, methods are provided for diagnosing pancreatic cancer in an individual, where the methods include detecting, in a biological sample from an individual, at least one biomarker value corresponding to at least one biomarker selected from the group of biomarkers provided in Table 1, wherein the individual is classified as having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on the at least one biomarker value. In a further aspect, methods are provided for diagnosing cancer generally in an individual, where the methods include detecting, in a biological sample from an individual, at least one biomarker value corresponding to at least one biomarker selected from the group of biomarkers provided in Table 19, wherein the individual is classified as having cancer generally, or the likelihood of the individual having cancer is determined, based on the at least one biomarker value.

1 . A method for diagnosing that an individual does or does not have pancreatic cancer, the method comprising:
 detecting, in a biological sample from an individual, biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 1, wherein said individual is classified as having or not having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values, and wherein N=2-65.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis comprises the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cancer from benign conditions such as pancreatitis or a gastrointestinal disorder. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the individual has an abdominal mass. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the biomarker values comprises performing an in vitro assay. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said in vitro assay comprises at least one capture reagent corresponding to each of said biomarkers, and further comprising selecting said at least one capture reagent from the group consisting of aptamers, antibodies, and a nucleic acid probe. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said at least one capture reagent is an aptamer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the in vitro assay is selected from the group consisting of an immunoassay, an aptamer-based assay, a histological or cytological assay, and an mRNA expression level assay. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biological sample is selected from the group consisting of whole blood, plasma, serum and pancreatic fluid. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the biological sample is plasma. 
     
     
         10 . The method  claim 1 , wherein the biological sample is pancreatic tissue and wherein the biomarker values derive from a histological or cytological analysis of said pancreatic tissue. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the individual is a human. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein N=3-10. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein N=3-15. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein N=2-10. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein N=4-10. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein N=5-10. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the individual is high risk for pancreatic cancer due to smoking, alcohol consumption or family history of pancreatic cancer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomarkers are selected from Table 18. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the biomarker CA19-9. 
     
     
         20 . A computer-implemented method for indicating a likelihood of pancreatic cancer, the method comprising:
 retrieving on a computer biomarker information for an individual, wherein the biomarker information comprises biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 1;   performing with the computer a classification of each of said biomarker values; and   indicating a likelihood that said individual has pancreatic cancer based upon a plurality of classifications, and wherein N=2-65.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein indicating the likelihood that the individual has pancreatic cancer comprises displaying the likelihood on a computer display. 
     
     
         22 . A computer program product for indicating a likelihood of pancreatic cancer, the computer program product comprising:
 a computer readable medium embodying program code executable by a processor of a computing device or system, the program code comprising:   code that retrieves data attributed to a biological sample from an individual, wherein the data comprises biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 1, wherein said biomarkers were detected in the biological sample; and   code that executes a classification method that indicates a pancreatic disease status of the individual as a function of said biomarker values; and wherein N=2-65.   
     
     
         23 . The computer program product of  claim 22 , wherein said classification method uses a probability density function. 
     
     
         24 . The computer program product of  claim 23 , wherein said classification method uses two or more classes. 
     
     
         25 . A method for screening an asymptomatic high risk individual for pancreatic cancer, the method comprising:
 detecting, in a biological sample from an individual, biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 1, wherein said individual is classified as having or not having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values, and wherein N=2-65.   
     
     
         26 - 41 . (canceled) 
     
     
         42 - 46 . (canceled) 
     
     
         47 . A method for diagnosing that an individual does or does not have cancer, the method comprising:
 detecting, in a biological sample from an individual, biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 19, wherein said individual is classified as having or not having cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values, and wherein N=2-21.   
     
     
         48 - 60 . (canceled) 
     
     
         61 . A computer-implemented method for indicating a likelihood of cancer, the method comprising:
 retrieving on a computer biomarker information for an individual, wherein the biomarker information comprises biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 19;   performing with the computer a classification of each of said biomarker values; and   indicating a likelihood that said individual has cancer based upon a plurality of classifications, and wherein N=2-21.   
     
     
         62 . (canceled) 
     
     
         63 . A computer program product for indicating a likelihood of cancer, the computer program product comprising:
 a computer readable medium embodying program code executable by a processor of a computing device or system, the program code comprising:   code that retrieves data attributed to a biological sample from an individual, wherein the data comprises biomarker values that each correspond to one of at least N biomarkers selected from Table 19, wherein said biomarkers were detected in the biological sample; and   code that executes a classification method that indicates a cancer status of the individual as a function of said biomarker values; and wherein N=2-21.   
     
     
         64 - 65 . (canceled) 
     
     
         66 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said individual is classified as having or not having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values and at least one item of additional biomedical information corresponding to said individual. 
     
     
         67 . The method according to  claim 47 , wherein said individual is classified as having or not having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values and at least one item of additional biomedical information corresponding to said individual. 
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 66 , wherein said at least one item of additional biomedical information is independently selected from the group consisting of
 (a) information corresponding to the presence or absence of a pancreatic mass or other abdominal mass,   (b) information corresponding to physical descriptors of said individual,   (c) information corresponding to a change in weight of said individual,   (d) information corresponding to the ethnicity of said individual,   (e) information corresponding to the gender of said individual,   (f) information corresponding to said individual's smoking history,   (g) information corresponding to said individual's alcohol use history,   (h) information corresponding to said individual's occupational history,   (i) information corresponding to said individual's family history of pancreatic cancer or other cancer,   (j) information corresponding to the presence or absence in said individual of at least one genetic marker correlating with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer or cancer in said individual or a family member of said individual,   (k) information corresponding to clinical symptoms of said individual,   (l) information corresponding to other laboratory tests,   (m) information corresponding to gene expression values of said individual, and   (n) information corresponding to said individual's exposure to known carcinogens.   
     
     
         69 . A classifier comprising the biomarkers of Table 18. 
     
     
         70 . The method according to  claim 25 , wherein said individual is classified as having or not having pancreatic cancer, or the likelihood of the individual having pancreatic cancer is determined, based on said biomarker values and at least one item of additional biomedical information corresponding to said individual. 
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 70 , wherein said at least one item of additional biomedical information is independently selected from the group consisting of
 (a) information corresponding to the presence or absence of a pancreatic mass or other abdominal mass,   (b) information corresponding to physical descriptors of said individual,   (c) information corresponding to a change in weight of said individual,   (d) information corresponding to the ethnicity of said individual,   (e) information corresponding to the gender of said individual,   (f) information corresponding to said individual's smoking history,   (g) information corresponding to said individual's alcohol use history,   (h) information corresponding to said individual's occupational history,   (i) information corresponding to said individual's family history of pancreatic cancer or other cancer,   (j) information corresponding to the presence or absence in said individual of at least one genetic marker correlating with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer or cancer in said individual or a family member of said individual,   (k) information corresponding to clinical symptoms of said individual,   (l) information corresponding to other laboratory tests,   (m) information corresponding to gene expression values of said individual, and   (n) information corresponding to said individual's exposure to known carcinogens.   
     
     
         72 . The method of  claim 67 , wherein said at least one item of additional biomedical information is independently selected from the group consisting of
 (a) information corresponding to the presence or absence of a pancreatic mass or other abdominal mass,   (b) information corresponding to physical descriptors of said individual,   (c) information corresponding to a change in weight of said individual,   (d) information corresponding to the ethnicity of said individual,   (e) information corresponding to the gender of said individual,   (f) information corresponding to said individual's smoking history,   (g) information corresponding to said individual's alcohol use history,   (h) information corresponding to said individual's occupational history,   (i) information corresponding to said individual's family history of pancreatic cancer or other cancer,   (j) information corresponding to the presence or absence in said individual of at least one genetic marker correlating with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer or cancer in said individual or a family member of said individual,   (k) information corresponding to clinical symptoms of said individual,   (l) information corresponding to other laboratory tests,   (m) information corresponding to gene expression values of said individual, and   (n) information corresponding to said individual's exposure to known carcinogens.