Abstract PO-001: Increased growth differentiation factor 15 serum levels in pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic cancer has poor outcomes with a 5-year survival rate of 9%. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) has been shown to play a role in pancreatic cancer progression and tumor growth. It is a stress response cytokine that plays a role in inflammation and cellular metabolism. Signaling via its receptor, glial cell derived neurotropic factor family receptor alpha like (GFRAL), GDF15 influences metabolic homeostasis and immune regulation, which may contribute to favorable energy utilization and immune suppression in pancreatic cancer tumors. We hypothesized that GDF15 levels are associated with pancreatic cancer tumor stage and clinical outcomes. GDF15 levels were measured in human serum from healthy control patients and patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Serum samples and associated clinical data were obtained from an IRB approved institutional repository. In healthy control patients, GDF15 had a mean level of 598 pg/mL (SD +/- 304 pg/mL, n=150). Contrastingly, in a cohort of pancreatic cancer patients across various stages of disease, GDF15 levels were significantly higher with a mean of 2294 pg/mL (SD +/- 2005 pg/mL, n=152) (p-value Citation Format: Veronica R. Placencio-Hickok, Arsen Osipov, Sejal Mehta, Subhash D. Katewa, Jiping Zha, Andrew E. Hendifar. Increased growth differentiation factor 15 serum levels in pancreatic cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-001.