How a long-known biomarker backs BioNTech's antibody for pancreatic cancer

CA19-9, or sialyl-Lewis, is a sugar molecule that's present on many proteins and is often elevated in patients with pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Therefore it has been used for more than 30 years to assess disease burden. But now a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have found that CA19-9 may, in fact, promote the development of these pancreatic diseases.