ABSTRACT
The incidence of pancreatic cancer is gradually increasing worldwide. The overall 5-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer is about 5%, because the early diagnosis is difficult and the radical resection rate is low in pancreatic cancer. The keys of improving the poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer are early diagnosis and radical resection. Detection of serum tumor markers has an important utility in the diagnosis, prognosis and surveillance of pancreatic cancer. CA19-9 is the most widely used and best validated serum tumor marker for pancreatic cancer although it has some limits. With the development of molecular biological techniques in recent years, several potential serum tumor markers for pancreatic cancer are undergoing evaltation, including MIC- 1, M2- PK, OPN, RCAS1, and so on. This paper is to review the current status of serum tumor markers of pancreatic cancer.