Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32642635›Full record

ArticleJHEP reports : innovation in hepatology2020

IgG4/IgG RNA ratio does not accurately discriminate IgG4-related disease from pancreatobiliary cancer.

Elsemieke de Vries, Floor Tielbeke, Lowiek Hubers, Jeltje Helder, Nahid Mostafavi, Joanne Verheij, Jeanin van Hooft, Marc Besselink, Paul Fockens, Niek de Vries and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Article
  3. IgG4-Related Cholangitis.Seminars in liver disease · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. IgG4-related diseases of the digestive tract.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2022
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Quality and reproducibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.JHEP reports : innovation in hepatology · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Elsemieke de VriesDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Floor TielbekeDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Lowiek HubersDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Jeltje HelderDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Nahid MostafaviDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Joanne VerheijDepartment of Pathology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Jeanin van HooftDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Marc BesselinkDepartment of Surgery, Cancer Center Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Paul FockensDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Niek de VriesDepartment of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, all at Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ulrich BeuersDepartment of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, The Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism (AG&M) Research Institute, The Netherlands.
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLCancer Center Amsterdam

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND &

aimsIgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) of the biliary tract and pancreas is often difficult to distinguish from pancreatobiliary cancer. The blood IgG4/IgG RNA ratio has been reported to discriminate IgG4-RD from primary sclerosing cholangitis/pancreatobiliary cancer with high accuracy. This study aimed to prospectively assess the diagnostic accuracy of the blood IgG4/IgG RNA ratio for distinguishing IgG4-RD from cancer in patients with a suspected pancreatobiliary malignancy.

methodsIn this prospective, single center, observational study, patients presenting at a specialized multidisciplinary, hepato-pancreato-biliary clinic with suspicion of pancreatobiliary malignancy were included. The IgG4/IgG RNA ratio (threshold 5.0%) was determined by quantitative PCR in addition to standard diagnostic procedures. Clinical, biochemical, radiological, and histo-/cytopathological findings were analyzed. For the diagnosis of IgG4-RD, the HISORt criteria were used as a reference standard. Malignancy was defined by the presence of neoplastic tissue at histo-/cytopathological examination.

resultsOverall, 213 consecutive patients (mean age 68 years) with a suspected pancreatobiliary malignancy were analyzed, of whom 3 patients were diagnosed with IgG4-RD and 178 patients were diagnosed with malignancy (165 patients with primary pancreatobiliary malignancy). The IgG4/IgG RNA ratio was true positive in 3 patients and false positive in 87 (40.8%) patients. In 123 (57.7%) patients the test was true negative. The sensitivity of blood IgG4/IgG RNA ratio was 100%, the specificity 58.6%, the positive predictive value 3.3%.

conclusionIn the setting of a high LAY SUMMARY: IgG4-related disease is a benign inflammatory multiorgan disease which predominantly affects the pancreas and biliary tree. Clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging finding are often difficult to distinguish from pancreatic or biliary tract cancer. This prospective trial indicates that the recently proposed blood IgG4/IgG RNA ratio does not accurately distinguish benign IgG4-RD from malignant pancreatobiliary disease.

Indexed as

AIP, auto-immune pancreatitisAUC, area under the curveCA 19.9, carbohydrate antigen 19.9CholangiocarcinomaHPF, high power fieldIgG4-RD, IgG4-related diseaseIgG4-related cholangitisIRC, IgG4-related cholangitisKlatskin tumorpancreatic carcinomapancreatobiliary malignancyPSC, primary sclerosing cholangitisROC, receiver operating characteristics

Identifiers

PMID32642635
PMCPMC7332528
OpenAlexW3016958763

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.