Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2026; 32(48): 121570
Published online Dec 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.121570
Published online Dec 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.121570
Cadherin-17: A potential biomarker for early detection in pancreatic adenocarcinoma
William C Cho, Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
Wing S Yu, Tsz C Hon, Xiao Q Wang, Tiberias Technology (HK) Limited, Hong Kong SAR, China
Elaine T Y Cheung, Wah Cheuk, Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China
Dennis A Wong, John M Luk, Arbele Corp., Bellevue, WA 98005, United States
Cesar S C Wong, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Author contributions: Cho WC and Luk JM designed the research study; Yu WS and Hon TC performed the research; Cheung ETY, Cheuk W, Wang XQ, Wong DA, Wong CSC and Luk JM contributed resources; Cho WC, Yu WS and Hon TC analyzed the data; Cho WC and Yu WS wrote the manuscript; Cho WC and Luk JM review and edit the manuscript; and all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: We used ChatGPT solely to help with language polishing in some paragraphs. No AI tool was involved in data processing, figures, results, and discussion. All content is the original work of the authors.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Hospital Authority (Hong Kong, China) Research Ethics Committee (Approval No. KC/KE-23-0014/ER-2).
Informed consent statement: Given the retrospective design of this study, a waiver of participant informed consent was granted by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital Authority (Hong Kong, China).
Conflict-of-interest statement: Wing S Yu, Tsz C Hon, and Xiao Q Wang are current employees of Tiberias Technology (HK) Limited (Hong Kong, China). Dennis A Wong and John M Luk are current employees of Arbele Corp (Seattle, WA, United States). The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: William C Cho, PhD, FIBMS (UK), Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China. chocs@ha.org.hk
Received: March 27, 2026
Revised: April 18, 2026
Accepted: June 26, 2026
Published online: December 28, 2026
Processing time: 221 Days and 6 Hours
Revised: April 18, 2026
Accepted: June 26, 2026
Published online: December 28, 2026
Processing time: 221 Days and 6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In this pilot study, cadherin-17 (CDH17) was markedly upregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissue, and its soluble form in plasma distinguished early-stage patients from healthy controls with 86% sensitivity and specificity. These findings point to the biomarker panel consisting of CDH17 and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 offers a possible strategy to address the pressing need for both earlier detection and monitoring disease burden in this malignancy.