[Serum pancreatic enzymes in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the pancreas].

Serum levels of amylase, pancreatic isoamylase, lipase, trypsinogen, and elastase 1 were determined in 41 patients with pancreatic carcinoma and compared with those 71 patients with chronic pancreatitis and 17 patients with digestive non-pancreatic carcinoma, in an attempt to evaluate their relative values in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Trypsinogen and elastase 1 levels were the most frequently abnormal (56%), followed by pancreatic isoamylase (39%), lipase (34%), and amylase (27%). In 4 patients with resectable cancer levels of all serum enzymes were within normal limits, with the single exception of a low trypsinogen level in one patient. No significant differences in the behavior of serum enzymes were found between patients with pancreatic cancer and those with chronic pancreatitis or digestive non-pancreatic cancer. The results of our study indicate that measurement of serum pancreatic enzymes is of limited usefulness in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.