Western blotting of the 19 proteins indicated in Tables 2(a) and 2(b) revealed that expression of 7 proteins were found to be significantly decreased in patients with pancreatic cancers compared with controls: they were inter-alpha trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H1 (ITIH1), hemopexin precursor (HPX), alpha-1B-glycoprotein precursor (A1BG), apolipoprotein A-IV precursor (ApoA-IV), vitamin D-binding protein precursor (GC), plasma retinol-binding protein precursor (RBP4), and tetranectin (CLEC3B). This evidence concerns the gene HPX and familial pancreatic carcinoma.