AG&M annual report 2018

AG&M Science Impressions 2018
Marc Besselink and Marin Strijker
pancreatic resection are collected. The biobank started
in 2015 and is incorporated in the Parelsnoer Institute,
which is a nationwide network established by the Dutch
Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU). The
Parelsnoer Institute aims to facilitate central data and
IT infrastructure in the UMC’s, striving for uniform data
and biomaterial collection.
All patients undergoing pancreatic resection are
included. After providing informed consent, data and
biomaterials are collected. In the preoperative setting
DNA, plasma (10 mL tube) and serum (10 mL tube) are
collected. Directly after resection, biopsies (2x tumor
tissue, 1x normal pancreatic tissue, 1x normal spleen/
duodenum) from the resected specimen are obtained;
samples are fresh-frozen and stored at -80ºC. In the
postoperative phase serum and plasma are collected at
several moments during follow-up. This far, more than
1300 patients have been included in 12 centers; all 8
UMC’s, but also several teaching hospitals participate.
Research proposals for the use of samples are
evaluated by the DPCG scientific committee.
ADAM12 as a stroma marker in
pancreatic cancer
Recently, the first analyses of samples from the Dutch
Pancreas Biobank have been performed. This study,
supervised by dr. Maarten Bijlsma, evaluates the
serum marker A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease 12
(ADAM12). Earlier research has shown that in patients
with pancreatic cancer ADAM12 is upregulated
specifically in the stroma of tumor tissue compared
to normal pancreatic tissue. Moreover, in a cohort
of 60 patients who underwent resection because of
pancreatic cancer, high serum ADAM12 was associated
with poor prognosis. In patients with metastatic disease
treated with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine (n=184),
low ADAM12 levels predicted response to treatment.
The value of ADAM12 as a non-invasive biomarker
in resected pancreatic cancer will be validated using
samples from the Dutch Pancreas Biobank (n=164); the
results are currently being analyzed.
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