Reviewer's report 
 The presence of the proteolysis-inducing factor in urine does not predict the malignancy of Title: 
pancreatic tumours 
 1  15 April 2005 Version: Date: 
 Matthias LOEHR Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This is a clean study with a clear objective. The result is negative, however, sufficiently important to be published. Some minor handcrafting issues must be resolved prior to publication in any journal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can 
be reached) 
What was the intra- and inter-assay variability? 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the author can be trusted to correct) 
Methods: how long was the dialysis time? overnight? 
Reference for the PIF antibody by Mr. Tisdale is missing 
Which CA 19-9 assay (brand) is used. There are two currently in use which have slightly but 
significantly different upper levels of normal (cut-off) 
There is certainly a typo on the standard deviation in PIF negative patients ("25203") 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Accept after minor essential revisions What next?: 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
I declare that I have no competing interests 
Reviewer's report 
 The presence of the proteolysis-inducing factor in urine does not predict the malignancy of Title: 
pancreatic tumours 
 1  15 April 2005 Version: Date: 
 Matthias LOEHR Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This is a clean study with a clear objective. The result is negative, however, sufficiently important to be published. Some minor handcrafting issues must be resolved prior to publication in any journal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can 
be reached) 
What was the intra- and inter-assay variability? 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the author can be trusted to correct) 
Methods: how long was the dialysis time? overnight? 
Reference for the PIF antibody by Mr. Tisdale is missing 
Which CA 19-9 assay (brand) is used. There are two currently in use which have slightly but 
significantly different upper levels of normal (cut-off) 
There is certainly a typo on the standard deviation in PIF negative patients ("25203") 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Accept after minor essential revisions What next?: 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
I declare that I have no competing interests 
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report 
 The presence of the proteolysis-inducing factor in urine does not predict the malignancy of Title: 
pancreatic tumours 
 1  15 April 2005 Version: Date: 
 Matthias LOEHR Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This is a clean study with a clear objective. The result is negative, however, sufficiently important to be published. Some minor handcrafting issues must be resolved prior to publication in any journal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can 
be reached) 
What was the intra- and inter-assay variability? 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the author can be trusted to correct) 
Methods: how long was the dialysis time? overnight? 
Reference for the PIF antibody by Mr. Tisdale is missing 
Which CA 19-9 assay (brand) is used. There are two currently in use which have slightly but 
significantly different upper levels of normal (cut-off) 
There is certainly a typo on the standard deviation in PIF negative patients ("25203") 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Accept after minor essential revisions What next?: 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
I declare that I have no competing interests 
assistant