Serum MUC5AC Predicts Recurrence in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients on Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Background: We explored the potential value of serum MUC5AC (sMUC5AC) as a biomarker to guide perioperative management of early-stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy (NAT). Methods: We performed enzyme-linked immunoassays using a human MUC5AC kit (NBP2-76703) in serum samples obtained from The Ohio State Uni-versity biorepository (between January 2010 and June 2021). Univariate (UV) and multivariate (MV) Cox regression models were used to quantify progression-free survival (PFS); clinical and pathological variables were adjusted in the MV models. UV logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the association of sMUC5AC with pathological features and survival. Results: Overall, 23 samples (19 FOLFIRINOX, 3 gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel, 1 FOLFOX) were available for analysis. The median age was 66 years, and 52% were females. sMUC5AC was associated with a) treatment response, margin status, and residual disease (R0 vs. R1/R2) (all P