Abstract
BACKGROUND: Platelets are considered an important source of prothrombotic agents associated with inflammation in cancer related diseases. We aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the platelet distribution width (PDW) and CA19-9 in resectable pancreas cancer. METHOD: A total of 83 stage-1 and 2 pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) patients, and 85 age and sex-matched healthy participants were included in the study. All preoperative patient data, including PDW and CA19-9 were analyzed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: Demographic features were not significantly different among the groups. Platelet distribution width and CA19-9 were significantly higher in PAC compared to control group (p= 0.0001). Diagnostically, the sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 85% for PDW, while 78% and 91% for CA19-9. Diagnostic accuracy was measured by the area under the ROC curve, and PDW differs significantly (p<0.001), with a value of 0.874 (95% CI: 0.804-0.929). CONCLUSION: Platelet distribution width indicated similar sensitivity and specificity with CA19-9 in patients with resectable PAC. This result strongly advice that PDW, which has more routine option and cost-effectivity than CA19-9, can be used for diagnosis of resectable PAC as a strong alternative.