However, when a pair-wise comparison was performed using the Wilcoxon test, we observed that although serum NGAL levels were significantly higher in acute (P=0.035), chronic pancreatitis (P=0.035), and pancreatic cancer (P=0.004) compared to healthy controls, there was no significant difference between the pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer samples (P=1.000). This evidence concerns the gene LCN2 and familial pancreatic carcinoma.