Prospective observational study of biomarkers of adjuvant chemotherapy response in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Adjuvant chemotherapy benefits patients after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but the compromised physical state of postoperative patients can hinder compliance. Biomarkers that identify candidates for prompt adjuvant therapy are needed. A prospective observational study at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) included 1,171 PDAC patients who underwent pancreatectomy. Proteomic profiling of samples of 191 patients revealed two protein biomarkers of response of PDAC to adjuvant chemotherapy: NDUFB8 (subunit of NADH dehydrogenase) and CEMIP2 (a transmembrane protein). These two biomarkers were validated in an internal cohort of 386 patients, a multicenter cohort of 230 patients in France, and a cohort from two tertiary hospitals in China. Experimental validation through functional assays was conducted in PDAC cell lines and patient-derived organoids. The authors conclude that this cohort-scal integration of clinical and proteomic data demonstrates the potential of proteomics-guided prognosis and biomarker-aided adjuvant chemotherapy for PDAC.